


An Explosive Affair

by CartoonJessie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fuckbuddies, Fuckbuddies To Lovers, Modern AU, Reyux, Reyuxmas, but with reyux!, did i invent that just now? maybe., hux makes bombs for work and is loaded as fuck, hux took a bomb to the face..., rey works in customer care and rides a harley, ya know kind of like phantom of the opera XD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:41:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonJessie/pseuds/CartoonJessie
Summary: When Rey gets a call at work that a client needs an urgent delivery, she has no idea who she's driving her Harley to. Upon arriving at a dark mansion in the woods, she's set up by the butler to meet the mysterious hermit living there. She'd never expected to find a millionaire fuckbuddy in there, but sometimes life's just weird and you're drawn in by a man you're supposed to hate. Armitage Hux is one such man, but however hard she tries, around him, hate is usually the last thing on her mind. [Reyux Fuckbuddy AU - Fuckbuddies to Lovers - is that a thing?]
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rey, Armitage Hux/Rey
Comments: 291
Kudos: 120
Collections: Reyuxmas 2019





	1. A Strange Call

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this new Reyux story, written for Reyuxmas! I hope you've all survived TROS and are ready to continue as though nothing ever happened. XD Anyway, have a fic! Thanks in advance for leaving comments in these trying times. You may discuss TROS with me in comments if you like!

Jakku Mobile was one of the smallest mobile operators in all the land – distinguishing themselves from the competition with their low prices and top-notch customer support.

Agents were given higher wages and more freedom to perform their jobs as they saw fit, which paid off in the long run, for they were happier employees that had no desire to leave the company after a few months, as was often the case for the poor souls working for the biggest brands.

Rey had been employed at Jakku Mobile for nearly six years and loved her closest colleagues dearly. As she was responding to questions on social media, she listened to her neighbor Poe as he was getting a little frustrated with the conversation he was having over the phone.

“The back button, the return button, that’s usually at the bottom of your phone, to the left… No, not in the middle… Yes I know it doesn’t look like there’s a button there, but your screen will probably sense it when you press it… It’s the triangle… Yes more like an arrow... Okay, so now you’re at the right page to…” He dropped his head on his desk, closing his eyes. “Oh okay you turned off your phone? … No that’s not a problem, we can start over again, and this time you know where to find the return button… No, I don’t know your PIN code. Did you ever change it from the standard one?”

Rey chuckled, bearing witness to how Poe seemed to want to give up on life, still listening to his customer as he tried to aid them through the configuration of their internet settings.

“Rey?”

She looked to the other side, where Finn was signaling that he had someone on hold.

“Can I transfer this guy? He has a lot of technical questions and I honestly have no idea what he even wants to accomplish.”

Rey took her headset and nodded. “Of course, what’s his question?”

Finn shrugged. “Something about IP addresses and roaming and whether they change or not?”

She knew Finn was great at the financial questions that were thrown at him, but when it came to the more technical questions, she definitely knew more. Though she didn’t have a technical profile, she had a curious nature and an analytical mind, and if she was unable to answer a question straight away, then it only took her a few minutes to read up on it and understand the case.

As she nodded at him, she heard how he promised the customer he would transfer them to a specialist, and as the call entered, she also saw how he was calling from an anonymous number. If he was a client with them, she would not be able to tell from this particular call.

“Jakku Mobile, this is Rey speaking!” she said cheerfully.

A small pause.

“Hi, I was going to be transferred to a technical specialist?” came a man’s voice from the other side.

Rey bit her lip for a moment. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard that. Many people still didn’t believe that a woman could know more than a man when it came to technical issues.

“Yes, that’s me!” she insisted, her voice still as cheerful as before, as though she wasn’t mildly insulted by the suggestion she could not help him due to her gender.

Another pause.

“Pardon me,” he apologized. “I’ve never heard a technical engineer as cheerful as you. For a moment I thought I’d been connected to the wrong person.”

Rey couldn’t help but laugh at that, and apparently her mood was contagious, for she heard a small chuckle on the other side as well.

“From what I understood from my colleague, he didn’t fully understand what you needed. He said you had questions about sim cards with fixed IP addresses and roaming?”

“Yes. I’m an engineer and I’m urgently looking for a sim card to do some tests with. The problem is that I would need a fixed IP address on that sim card, and not a single company is able to deliver it today, not to mention that it would need to be requested on a business account, but delivered to a private address.”

Rey gulped. It was already nearing noon. Their mail had already left the building, and the weekend was fast approaching.

“I kind of fear that it’s going to be very hard to get you a sim card by the end of today, and I also fear that we only have the fixed IP address solution for sim cards on business accounts at this moment. But if you’re an engineer, then surely your company will allow you to create a business account under their name?”

She heard him sigh. Clearly he was annoyed that there seemed no way he would get his card that day. He didn’t need to voice that frustration.

“If I may ask, where do you live?” Rey asked, hoping she could somehow help him.

“Arkanis, if you’ve heard of it. Tiny place.”

Rey was already entering the name in google, and within a few seconds, she was looking at it on the map.

“Oh that doesn’t seem to be very far from us at all!” she replied. “That’s a thirty minute drive. If you want, you could still pick up a card, after you’ve requested one? If you file a request on the website under a business account, then I could assign it to you before you’re here and you could pick it up then.”

She heard him hum, but not in a good way.

“No, I’m afraid I can’t come over today – still too much work to be done, and my butler won’t arrive until six. Are you still open then?”

Butler. Rey’s eyes widened. He had to be pretty rich to have a butler!

“Afraid not,” she replied. “After five most of the office empties out and those with evening shifts work from home. But I wouldn’t mind dropping it off at your place – it’s a bit out of my way, but if I can help you with your project that way, it would be my pleasure!”

“Really?” He almost sounded as cheerful as she did now. “That’s spectacular customer service!”

“We do try,” Rey said cheekily. “But so far you haven’t really asked me your questions about roaming. I just want to make sure that I’m not selling you something that isn’t going to work for you. What other questions did you have?”

Feeling a lot more at ease now, he continued rather eagerly: “Well, it’s a bit of a complicated project. For now I’m not taking any of the sim cards abroad, but I would like about five of them for testing purposes. So at this moment, I could do my testing with your sim cards. But I was wondering if you also have guarantees regarding the 4G reception abroad.”

Rey bit her lip – guarantees were always hard to give, especially for countries they had no physical presence in.

“Well, 4G is pretty well known throughout Europe, there are some places where you can only connect to the 3G network, but it would allow you to surf, just a bit slower.”

“I don’t think it will be bad if they connect to the 3G network,” he added. “The messages we need to send are just, basically, one word. That shouldn’t take more than a second to arrive over 3G or 4G.”

“In that case, 3G will do just as well!” Rey replied.

“But is that an option that always works? With APN settings and such? Are they different in other countries?”

He seemed to know pretty well what could possibly go wrong.

Rey thought about it for a moment. “They’re usually the same, but it’s always possible that something unexpected happens and they’re suddenly removed from the phone. It’s a rather rare issue, but it can appear and to be honest, I don’t know all the possible reasons why it does that. Sometimes updates in the phone itself are the issue, but in most cases we can help you fix it. So let’s assume that it happens, then you can always reach us and we can try to help you as soon as we can. Business accounts have 24/7 customer support.”

“Appreciated, but I’m afraid that’s not entirely going to be possible at that moment. It really can’t afford to go wrong, for no one is going to see it in time.”

“Why do you require the fixed IP address?” Rey wondered. “You said you would send single words to your device. Usually they ask fixed IP addresses to take over the phone completely from a distance.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to be necessary. I’m going to program something so that the phone responds immediately once I send a specific word to it online.”

“Do you know IFTTT?” Rey suddenly asked.

“IF what?”

“If This Then That – that’s what it stands for. It’s some sort of an app which you can also set up so that the phone does something specific the moment you send a message of a sort to it. For example, you could set up that if someone sends you a picture on Whatsapp, your phone saves it automatically to Dropbox. But the possibilities are nearly endless. So let’s assume for a moment that your device is abroad, but the APN settings are wrong, then you could still send the phone an SMS and it could then complete the action it was meant to do.”

“That is a brilliant suggestion!” he replied. “I’ve never heard of that – IFTTT – I’m noting this down right now. I never even knew that existed. None of the other operators I spoke with today told me that.”

“It’s not really a standard app,” Rey explained. “I’ve only known it for a few months myself.”

“Do you know if it works offline?” the man wondered. “Because if it doesn’t, then it’s still the same issue as when I try to send it over the fixed IP.”

“Oh that’s a good question,” she admitted slowly. “Not sure, that would require some testing.”

“Well, let’s test it!” he said eagerly. “I’m going to order some sim cards then. Shall I call you back when it’s done so you can prepare them?”

“That would be great! My name’s Rey.”

“I remembered, Rey. My name’s Hux – Armitage Hux.”

She was still smiling. His name seemed to fit his voice.

“Well then, Armitage Hux, I look forward to hearing from you again very soon!”

“You will! Until later!”

“Bye then!”

As she hung up the phone, she looked at Finn to the side, who was rolling his eyes.

“You’re a show off,” he muttered.

“What? I got us a new customer!”

“Who was quite rude to me!” Finn reminded her.

Rey rolled her eyes. “Only because you probably didn’t understand anything he said.”

“That’s no excuse!” he insisted.

Rey chuckled. “Well, I’m certain he’s not unhappy with you anymore. He’ll call back – if he does, let me know!”


	2. The Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey arrives at the mansion, meets the butler, as well as the haunted owner of the place.

As everyone packed up their stuff later that day, so did Rey, but she didn’t forget the envelope with sim cards, which she slid to the side of her laptop bag.

He’d called back and she’d checked his address in Arkanis, just so she wouldn’t go to the wrong place. Their conversation had been rather brief, but he’d seemed delighted with the news that he could continue his tests today.

Hopping onto her motorcycle, she was glad that she now had an excuse to take it out of the city. She loved nothing more than just driving around, even if it was for making last-minute sim card deliveries in the area.

It was quite cold in the December sun, but at least it wasn’t freezing and the weather was dry in the city. Besides, her helmet kept her ears warm and she wore a dark leather jacket and sturdy black denim, as well as thick gloves and a scarf. She was quite comfortable that way.

She exchanged the city traffic for winding forest roads as she headed to Arkanis. She’d never been there, but the roads were very nice for an excursion, with more pine trees along the way than she usually saw in these regions.

It was very dark though, but there were also many lights by the side of the road – more than she was used to in other parts of her country. She found it a bit odd, but didn’t question it.

When she finally reached her destination, she was still in the forest, but she could see the large gate and the house number “1” on the large, stone mailbox. Looking through the gate, her mouth dropped. The driveway was massive, and at the end of it was a tall, dark mansion. It had three turrets, at least four floors, and a large fountain in front of it. And right now, there were rain clouds gathering above it.

She was certain that was just a coincidence, but she couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that the sight gave her.

Parking her motorcycle by the side of the gate, she took off her helmet and looked around her. He lived very isolated. There wasn’t another house in sight, just forest, nor did it seem there were many people who used this road. The place was deserted.

There was a bell by the side of the gate, and after she rang it, she stepped back and waited. She didn’t want to know how many minutes it could take for someone to answer it, when one lived in as big a house as this one. A castle was a more appropriate term.

“Feel free to drive up to the front door,” a voice came from the intercom.

It wasn’t Hux though – the accent was different this time.

As the gate opened, Rey quickly hopped on her motorcycle again and started it up once more. She drove towards the castle, around the fountain, and by the time she hopped down her bike, the first rain had started to fall.

Luckily, the door was already open for her, and she saw a bald man with a large nose stare at her. There was something a little eerie about his gaze, and he didn’t seem to be Armitage Hux at all. Whatever energy someone was able to convey over the phone, this man’s energy was completely different.

She didn’t enter the house, but simply stood on the porch, which was luckily shielded from the rain.

“Are you Armitage Hux?” she asked carefully, but the man immediately shook his head.

“No, I’m his butler,” the man replied in a bit of a rough voice, and she figured that the black suit should have given it away. “Are you Rey from the Jakku Mobile company?”

She smiled and nodded politely. “Yes, I’ve brought the sim cards!”

As she went into her backpack and pulled out the envelope, she offered it to the butler, who went into his inside pocket and got out an envelope in exchange.

As he took hers, she took the envelope he offered her, but she was quite confused.

“What’s this?” she wondered.

“A reward,” the butler replied. “Master Hux is very grateful for your aid. He asked me to make sure you received this.”

As Rey stared at the man, he stared back at her, and she realized that he was curious about her reaction. That was why he hadn’t closed the door yet and was watching her instead.

Slowly, she opened the envelope and looked inside. Realizing what ridiculous amount of money was in there, she immediately closed it again. It was easily what she made in a week.

“I can’t accept this,” she replied, hoping the man would take the envelope from her hand again as she held it out to him.

The man raised his hands in front of his chest.

“I’m afraid that master Hux was adamant about it – you must take it.”

Rey frowned. She didn’t like being told what to do.

“I won’t!” she insisted, still offering it to him, and she saw how there was a small twinkle in his eye.

“If you want, you can return it to him in person, since he would be most upset if I was the one to do it.”

Before, she’d been eager to meet Armitage Hux, right now, she was a little offended.

“Yes!” she replied. “Yes, then I can explain to him why I can’t accept this.”

As the butler opened the door wider, she stepped in, her eyes looking around the dark but massive entrance hall. There was a wooden staircase that seemed to reach all the way up to the top floor, and as Rey looked above her, she missed for a moment that the butler had already begun to walk towards one of the hallways.

She followed him with a skip in her step, her new leather boots creaking a little against the marble flooring. She was glad she’d gotten new boots though – her old ones had nearly fallen apart, and at least she looked a little less like a homeless person now. She already felt a bit like a beggar walking around in such an expensive home.

There was artwork on the walls – oil paintings of landscapes and ocean views of battleships – and they all seemed centuries old. Here and there, there were paintings of men – ginger men – and she wondered if they were the ones that had come before the current owner.

They walked down the stairs, apparently heading into the basement now, and while Rey had expected it to look even older than the rest of the castle above her, it seemed incredibly modern – like it was the newest part of the domain. Some walls were covered in metal sheets, and Rey found that incredibly strange and sterile. It looked a lot neater than most basements would, like it was cleaned daily.

As the butler tapped on a metal door, she heard a more familiar voice say: “Please enter!”

The butler gave her a glance, almost a half-smile, as he stepped in before Rey, and she looked over his shoulder to see a ginger man stand by a desk, apparently working on a computer, his back turned to them.

The butler cleared his voice and sounded quite stiff as he said: “Sir, I’ve got the sim cards from Jakku Mobile.”

“Good, good,” Hux replied absentmindedly, not turning to look at them, too occupied by the code on his screen.

Rey stood too far back to get a good look at it, and instead looked around the lab – for that was what it was. It wasn’t as much an office as it was a laboratory with a lot of metal islands and secure cabinets on all walls. For now, no creation was visible though, so she wasn’t much wiser about what it was he created.

“Hand them over, Opan,” he continued.

“She could not accept your envelope, sir.”

There was a crack of thunder that sounded at the exact same moment that Hux turned around, furiously.

“I TOLD YOU TO…”

He gasped as he realized Opan wasn’t alone, and with wide and terrified eyes he looked at Rey, whose heart had stopped as well.

Not because he was angry.

Not because of the thunder.

But because a part of his cheek was scarred horribly on his right side.

It seemed like most of his jaw, up until his cheekbone, had been burned severely. The scar tissue was white for the most part, but some spots of it were dark red, giving it an eerie and uneven appearance. She wasn’t certain if it was an ointment or some sort of pus that gave it its shiny glow, and while she was still staring, she suddenly realized he abruptly turned his head, only looking at her through his left eye, so she was shielded from the sight.

He wasn’t angry anymore, he seemed a little terrified to see her there, maybe ashamed, and Rey took a small step forward and offered him his envelope back.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice much softer than she had wanted it to be, but she was a little shaken. “I can’t accept this.”

As Hux looked at Opan, the butler explained: “I told her you would not accept me taking it back, so she offered to give it back herself!”

Rey’s expression didn’t change, except for the way she pursed her lips tighter together. She hadn’t suggested that herself, he really hadn’t left her much of a choice before he had guided her here, to a man who apparently wasn’t happy to entertain guests.

“A word,” Hux said sternly, walking past Rey as he took Opan by the arm and firmly guided him outside.

Rey was left standing there in the massive laboratory, and though the door had closed behind her, she could still catch some of the things Hux said as he rambled and expressed his frustration to his butler.

“…Unbelievable … No permission! … You knew what I meant!”

As their conversation grew quieter, Rey readjusted the backpack on her shoulders, sighing. She placed the envelope with money next to the one with the sim cards, and wondered if she should just ask if she could go then.

Walking to the hallway, she slowly opened the door.

“…haven’t spoken to anyone in months,” she heard the butler say gently. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Hello?” Rey asked, trying to make her presence known before they would think she was eavesdropping. They were standing just a few steps away from her, and Hux looked terrified again. “Sorry for interrupting,” she said. “But do you require further assistance from me with the activation of the sim cards?”

Hux gulped. “No, eh… I… I think I can do it online… And then… it takes an hour or so?”

While he’d sounded so confident over the phone, she’d never met a more awkward man in her life. But it was shame – Rey recognized it immediately in the way he turned his face away from her so she wouldn’t need to look at his scar.

“Indeed,” Rey replied. “It’s very straightforward, and you can log in to the portal online to see the IP addresses that are linked to the sim cards. They’ll be visible after an hour as well.”

The scarred man nodded briefly. “Thank you. You’ve been most helpful – sorry about this…” There was another crack of thunder that made the house shake. Whatever he’d wanted to say next was lost as they listened how the rumbling stopped in the distance.

“Are you certain you want to drive your motorcycle back in this weather?” the butler asked Rey.

“Motorcycle?” Hux replied with raised eyebrows as he looked at Opan.

“She’s got a Harley,” Opan replied with a smile.

Rey narrowed her eyes. “Am I the only motor enthusiast in the room?”

“No, Opan is probably jealous,” Hux said slowly. “He’s got a Yamaha.”

“There’s no reason to be jealous when I’ve got one of the fastest bikes in the country. From what I saw of hers, it’s a beauty but not as much made for speed.”

Rey smiled. She enjoyed talking about her motorcycle. “It’s quite an old one,” she replied. “Over twenty years now, actually. I replaced many of the most crucial parts over the years so it should be able to serve me for a few years longer.”

“Oh, no, I don’t really do any garage work myself,” Opan admitted. “Mister Hux keeps me very busy and I don’t have the technological know-how. I’ll pay a proper garage to fix up my motor when something’s wrong.”

“That’s wise,” Rey replied, before she looked towards the ceiling again as another thunder could be heard.

“It’s still nearby,” Opan said. “Shall I inform you when the thunder’s over so you can go home then?”

Rey hesitated. She hadn’t expressed a desire to stay, nor had Hux offered an invitation. But at the same time, it was a very bad idea to drive home in a thunderstorm.

“Okay,” she replied.

Opan nodded and bowed. “I shall get you a drink. Master Hux, do you want something too?”

He was looking at his butler through narrowed eyes.

“I’d ask for something stronger than you’re willing to give me.”

“Apple juice, coming right up, sir!” Opan replied cheekily, before he turned around and headed up the stairs again, headed towards the kitchen.

As Rey stood in the basement hallway with the master of the house, she looked at him curiously. He wasn’t looking at her when he headed towards his laboratory again.

“You might as well help with the activation then,” he muttered before he sighed. “I might still pick up a thing or two.”


	3. The Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm strands Rey at Hux's mansion, but she's not certain she's very welcome.

As he went to stand behind his laptop, she approached his left side – knowing that he would probably be ashamed if she stood on the side where she’d get a pretty good view of the scar he didn’t want anyone to see.

When he opened the envelope with sim cards, she only then noticed that his hands were scarred as well – though it seemed they had already healed for the largest part. The scars seemed smaller too, maybe not third degree scars like his face.

“So I just go to the portal?” he asked, opening up the company’s website and she saw that he was already logged in.

“Yes, just click ‘My sim cards’ over there – it will ask you to activate your new sim cards.”

She talked him through the process, even if she was certain he did not need anyone to talk him through it. He was far too clever to need aid with that, but maybe she was just afraid of the silence that could fall between them if she did not try to explain these very simple things to him.

When Opan entered with a reasonable large tray, he walked over to the standing desk and placed it down by the side of his laptop. Not only did the tray have half a dozen cool drinks, there was a small kettle of tea as well, as well as some cups, and he’d even gone through the trouble of making tiny sandwiches.

“I figured that maybe you were peckish,” he told Rey. “It’s still quite a bad downpour out there – and there’s still a rumbling in the distance, in the direction of the city. I wouldn’t leave just yet.”

She wasn’t certain whether she should be grateful or upset. Opan was taking care of her, in some way, but in another way he had also forced her in this situation. If she’d left straight away, maybe she could have beaten the storm home.

She hadn’t even known a storm was coming. Usually the weather in December was much kinder – this hardly even made sense.

“Thank you,” she replied politely, looking at the selection of drinks available. “I wouldn’t mind a bit of tea. Can I pour you some as well?”

She looked at Hux, who seemed surprised by the suggestion. “Eh, yes, tea would be lovely.”

As Rey looked at Opan, she saw a hint of pride in his eyes before he left the room again, leaving her to serve his master some tea.

She honestly didn’t know what the butler’s deal was. He was a strange man, but for some reason he really wanted her to talk to his master.

Then she remembered what she’d overheard. _‘…haven’t spoken to anyone in months’_

Could he have been talking about Hux? Had his shame caused him to hide away in his basement for so long? It seemed likely.

After she poured them a cup, she asked: “Milk or sugar?”

“Neither,” he replied, reaching out his hand to take the cup from her. When their skin touched, they both jumped a little bit, and he came close to spilling.

“Oh, apologies,” she quickly said, gulping as she focused her attention on the drinks in front of her, and not on his hands or his face. “I’m sorry.”

“My mistake,” he said softly, putting his cup of tea on the other side of his laptop, where she certainly couldn’t accidentally brush hands with him.

“I’m sorry too,” she apologized, pouring some milk in her tea. “I didn’t realize you were a hermit.”

She could sense how he turned his head to her for a moment, shocked, before he quickly turned his scar away from her again.

“I… I guess that’s fair,” he muttered.

As Rey looked up at him, she saw he had a bit of a frown on his face as he looked at his screen.

“I didn’t call myself that before,” he said with a hint of bitterness to his tone. “But I guess I shall from now on.”

Rey sighed. She wasn’t making it better. “Once again, apologies. I don’t always have the greatest amount of tact.”

“You seemed fine on the phone,” he muttered.

Raising an eyebrow, she felt a little insulted by his depressed tone. “Yeah, well, so did you!” she replied harshly.

He was looking at her again from the corner of his eye, and his face had turned into a sneer.

They were going nowhere with the way they were talking to one another.

“Well…” Rey said a little impatiently. “Are you going to tell me what happened? How you got that scar?”

He sighed. “You know, when you notice a scar upon someone’s face, sometimes it’s more polite not to ask.”

“When it’s the reason you live like a hermit, then I’m going to be curious about it,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “And the way you turn your head away so I won’t need to look at it only draws the attention closer to it!”

At that, he turned to look her full in the eye, his eyes ablaze, probably like the fire that had harmed him so.

As she looked at his face from so up close, she couldn’t help but lean back a little bit, but he leaned a little closer as he pursed his lips tightly together, until their faces were mere inches apart.

Rey didn’t dare to blink, and it seemed he didn’t dare to either – and the tension was causing their eyes to tear up a bit.

Though he’d stopped speaking, it was clear what he was trying to do. He was trying to intimidate her into looking away, into screaming or fainting or running.

But she held his gaze bravely, until all she felt was pity, and suddenly, she leaned in and pecked his good cheek.

“Truce?” she suggested with a small smile as she stepped back and tried not to laugh at his horrified expression.

Frowning at her, he seemed confused more than anything, like it made no sense to him that she would do such a thing.

To ease the tension some more, she took a tiny sandwich and shoved it in her mouth, before she offered him one as well, which he only took because he still had no idea what to say, and he just held it in his hand as though he had no idea what to do with the sandwich either.

“Look, I’m really curious what happened,” she admitted, her mouth still half-full. “Because I’m going to wonder for the rest of my life if you don’t tell me. So if you want to thank me for the troubles of coming here to bring you the sim cards, then tell me the story. Don’t offer me a butt load of cash! That’s insulting.”

He put the sandwich down by the side of his cup of tea, staring at the screen for a moment before he glanced at her again.

“I make bombs,” he stated softly.

Rey frowned in confusion.

“What?”

“It’s my job. I make explosives for the First Order. I design them, engineer them, do some testing and such. Usually I don’t make a full bomb – like, nothing that could blow up this building, for example, just tiny ones, like scale models, in a way. Just to see if the detonation mechanism does what I want it to do.”

He didn’t seem particularly emotional as he told her this – just exhausted.

“It detonated at a moment it wasn’t supposed to, and the blast hit me straight in the face. My hands took some second degree burns as well and I had some first degree burns on my arms and neck and such. I was in hospital for months. I wasn’t able to speak for a few, because of the way it hurt when I moved my jaw. Then I had to go through rehabilitation – speech therapy for a while – and I came back home and continued work here.”

Rey was leaning onto his standing desk as she listened, her arms crossed and her gaze empathic, as though she was bracing herself for his sad story.

“And you haven’t entertained many people here?” Rey asked softly.

He shook his head. “No. Doctors. A few old colleagues, but not many. You’re the first new person who’s not a doctor or nurse that I meet in a long while.”

“How long ago?” she wondered.

“Almost a year now,” he replied. “It happened in January.”

She seemed a little confused. “I didn’t know skin could take so long to heal.”

“It was a chemical burn,” he replied. “And with third degree burns, it sometimes seems there is no logic to the healing process. At points it seemed to get worse before it got better.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she offered kindly. “But you’re an intelligent and kind man, you shouldn’t deny the rest of the world the pleasure of your company.”

He seemed taken aback by her words, surprise on his face as he glanced at her.

She smiled warmly. “You might not think of yourself that way, but I did enjoy your call very much this afternoon! You have no idea how rare it is to have a conversation with someone that thinks at my level about all this technology.”

As she gestured at the sim cards, he only had eyes for her.

“Now I feel a little bad for being so harsh on your colleague though,” he admitted. “I’m not always nice. In fact, I’ve gotten a great deal more unpleasant since my accident.”

“From pain?” she wondered, but he shook his head nearly immediately.

“The physical pain is gone for the most part. I can sometimes feel the scars pulling when the weather’s about to change – if that makes sense – but in general I don’t experience pain on a daily basis anymore.”

She turned towards him and slowly brought her hand to his chest, resting it against his beating heart.

“This kind of pain,” she said gently. “The one you feel in your heart. Shame and bitterness and hatred for everything that happened and everything you can’t change now, everything it has changed about you.”

She could feel how his heartbeat quickened, and then how he put his hand on top of hers, pressing it even closer to his chest while he stared blankly ahead, his expression mostly a frown.

It took a few moments before she saw a tear stream down his cheek, and her own heart ached as well.

“Yes,” he said, his voice a little deeper than before. “I do know that pain.”

Feeling terribly sorry for him, she wanted to tell him something that would make it all go away – but she really didn’t know what. All she could do was stand there, not moving her hand as it rested warmly between his chest and the bare skin of his hand.

For a moment, there was peace between them, and then he seemed to realize how strange it was to hold someone’s hand pressed to their own chest, and so he let go of her and shoved the little sandwich in his mouth.

Rey quickly withdrew her hand, until it seemed like maybe he was choking a bit, and he coughed a little as he quickly gulped down the sandwich, taking a deep breath and coughing some more.

She bit her bottom lip as she looked at the screen of his laptop, not sure what else to say to him.

“Is there eh… Is there a loo somewhere?”

“Yes. Up the stairs, third door to the left.”

“Okay, thank you!”

As she rushed outside the room, Hux turned his head to watch her leave.

Would she come back?

He crushed the bit of hope he felt in the pit of his stomach. Even if she would, it wouldn’t mean a thing. She would already be long gone if it wasn’t for the rain.


	4. An Indecent Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opan talks to Rey about his master.

Rey had just made it up the stairs when she heard a soft: “Pssst, Miss Rey!”

A bit further down the hallway, Opan was beckoning at her from a doorway, and she cautiously headed over to him, hearing soft music coming from the room.

“Come in,” he said, just as quietly, and when she did and he closed the door behind her, she looked around what seemed to be an office, but with one wall covered by many monitors, displaying parts of the garden and walls, as well as the garage. From the view on the screens, she could tell it was still raining badly outside. There wasn’t a single window in his room that could tell her the same.

“I was just listening to the radio a bit, and they say it’s one of the worst December storms the country’s ever seen. Branches have snapped and such and some roads have flooded. I would like to extend an invitation for you to stay the night, just to be safe. I’d hate for you to get in trouble on your way back, and the roads are very winding and slippery – it would make me feel better knowing you’re safe here.”

Rey frowned. She wasn’t fond of driving her bike through horrible weather either, in the dark, but she also didn’t fully trust Opan.

“I appreciate the offer, but before I accept it, I’d like some honesty from you. You’ve been acting very strangely, forcing your own master to meet me when it was very clear he didn’t want to.”

“Miss Rey…” Opan sighed. “He does not know what’s good for him. Any man that had gone through what he did, would stop working for the First Order altogether – but he’s like a man possessed. And he’s suffering due to his own doing. He could do with a nice girl like you for a change – to take his mind off things.”

Rey narrowed her eyes, not sure what Opan had in mind precisely.

“What was he like?” she wondered. “Before the accident?”

Opan clicked his tongue for a moment as he thought about it. “In some ways, still the same. He was always a bit of a brat. Selfish. Immeasurably intelligent. Ambitious. I don’t think that has really changed since the accident. But he also enjoyed life more. Had a bit of wine every now and then, had a lady over now and then…”

“He had a girlfriend?” Rey asked softly, wondering if she’d broken up with him due to his looks.

“Oh, no, nothing of the sort,” Opan quickly corrected himself. “Just flings and one-night-stands. He loved those every now and then. Like any eligible bachelor would, I guess.”

Rey frowned. She knew plenty of men that weren’t as scared of commitment.

“How about you?” Opan asked suddenly. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No,” she replied wearily. “Not at the moment.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, but have you ever been into one-night-stands yourself?”

She frowned. “I don’t feel like I need to tell you.”

He smiled. “You didn’t blush or stammer like a virgin, so I’m assuming you know what it’s like. All I’m saying is that Hux could really use a good shag. He hasn’t had an outlet in months, is what I’m saying.”

Rey was frowning even deeper now, but a blush had crept up to her cheeks.

“Surely he can afford a prostitute,” she said dryly.

“That’s not the same!” Opan argued, keeping his voice down. “He would never! He used to enjoy it when women threw themselves at his feet. I think that’s one of his biggest frustrations. There’s nothing ‘eligible’ about him being a bachelor anymore. He’s just lonely and depressed and spending all his waking moments working away in the basement… I don’t think he’s seen proper sunlight in months. There’s only so much I can do as a butler – but I would appreciate your help.”

Rey gulped. She always aimed to please, and she loved helping those in need. But this was way out of her comfort zone.

Yet at the same time, she hadn’t had a fling in ages. When she’d been younger, she’d gone through a period where she’d had plenty of one-night-stands, trying to fill a void in her life, which it had never been able to truly satisfy. And while emotionally, it hadn’t resolved any of her issues, at least physically some of those men had made her feel fantastic.

“Look,” she said softly. “I’ll accept your offer to stay the night, because I don’t enjoy driving through stormy weather. And I’ll keep an open mind about your master, but… I don’t think it will come to that.” She paused for a moment. “In one way it’s a bit awkward that you try to look after him this way, in another… it’s… almost sweet.”

Opan smiled at that – though Rey wished he wouldn’t. He had a bit of a creepy smile.

“I’ll go back to him now. He might be wondering what’s taking so long.”

She looked for the loo first, and by the time she arrived back at the lab, he turned around the moment the door opened. He seemed genuinely surprised to see her there.

“I thought you’d left,” he remarked.

He was truly baffled that she hadn’t, and she smiled.

“No, sorry,” she apologized. “I’m afraid I might not be heading home just yet. The weather’s dreadful at the moment. Opan proposed I could spend the night.”

He looked away from her as she walked closer to him, pretending to focus on his laptop instead.

“We have plenty of rooms. And I’d rather have you safe as well. I would not enjoy angering the good people of Jakku Mobile by endangering you after you delivered my sim cards.”

Rey smiled.

“Very noble of you,” she replied in a joking tone, and as she looked at him, she noticed that his lips curled up into a smile as well.

If she was being honest, then she had to admit he wasn’t even bad-looking.


	5. A Welcome Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey joins Hux for dinner. Relaxing proves to be a challenge for him.

Not soon after she’d returned to Hux in his lab, Opan came to inform them dinner would be ready soon, and as they headed upstairs, there was a bit of an awkward silence between them again.

But after what Opan had said, it didn’t feel awkward for awkward sake – it felt almost sexual. It wasn’t silence, it was tension.

As they arrived in the kitchen, Rey could smell a wonderful stew on the fire, and Opan announced: “I set the table in the living room for you. I will serve your meal momentarily.”

To Rey it seemed like Opan did everything around the house. She wondered if there were other butlers, or if it was just him. And if it was only him, did he ever go on holiday? Did he live there?

She followed Hux into the living room, and as he stopped walking, so did she.

Not realizing yet what had him so perplexed he had frozen, she looked around the dark living room. Most of the curtains were already closed, but through the window that was still open, they could see the storm waging over the forest in the distance. There was a massive fireplace alight, and half a dozen large bookshelves lined parts of the wall. The dark leather sofas looked more expensive than any Rey had ever seen – and the dining room table was quite long, and set for two. Apparently they’d have several meters between them as they ate, with various candles lit in a room that hardly seemed illuminated, were it not for the romantic candlelight.

Hux was frozen as he looked at it. He knew what Opan was playing at, but he wasn’t sure he was in the mood. Pursing his lips together, he stubbornly headed to his chair and sat down. Maybe in another lifetime, he would have had the courtesy to escort the lady to her chair, but right now he was trying his hardest not to grab his knife, run into the kitchen, and stab Opan.

Rey had never been treated like a princess, so she wasn’t even aware he wasn’t being courteous as she went to the chair on the other side of the table and sat down. It seemed like Opan had more in mind than just dinner – there was also a dessert spoon above her plate, and Rey was quite curious about the cooking in this house.

If the house looked as exquisite as it did, was the food just as good? 

Looking at Hux, he was gazing out the window – not at all looking at her. Or was he just hiding his scar from her sight?

They didn’t need to wait very long, for Opan entered the room with a massive tray on his hand. He balanced it effortlessly as he offered Hux his plate first, then walked over to Rey to set it down in front of her too.

“May I offer you some red wine? It goes well with the veal.”

Rey nodded, not opposed to having something nice to drink, and as she looked at Hux, she noticed he was still looking out of the window.

Opan only disappeared into the kitchen for a few seconds before he returned with a bottle, and he poured her a glass.

“Master?” he asked, offering him the same, but he shook his head briefly.

Rey wondered why he wasn’t drinking, but didn’t ask. A few moments later, Opan had returned with a glass bottle of water, and he poured his master some water instead.

Unaccustomed to eating out in fancy places, Rey watched the master of the house curiously. When he looked at her for a brief moment and said: “Bon appetit!”, she said the same, and she began eating the moment he did.

The veal looked delicious – and there were some warm vegetables, including carrots and large mushrooms to go with it. The jacket potato that he’d baked in the oven with some butter looked wonderful, and Rey couldn’t imagine a better meal for a cold winter’s evening.

As she put the first piece of meat in her mouth, she looked up at Hux, noticing that while he was chewing, he was looking out of the window again, his head turned so clearly away from hers that she felt guilty about even being present.

“You know, you don’t have to look away from me,” Rey said, smiling as she’d come up with the perfect thing to say: “I’m not that ugly to look at, I hope?”

He looked at her – not turning his head. “You’re not. But I am. I don’t want to put you off your meal.”

Rey sighed. “You won’t. Relax.”

She tried some of the jacket potato – it was delightful – but as she looked at the master of the house, she noticed that he was _not_ relaxing at all. If he sat any straighter, she was certain he was going to snap his back. And he still wasn’t looking at her.

“Please, Armitage, relax,” she said again, and though he turned his head her way a little bit, he was still frowning.

“Aren’t you horrified by me?”

Rey shrugged. “Not really. A little. But it’s not going to put me off my food, I promise. I’ve gone to the cinema so much, watching the grossest and most gory horror movies you could imagine, while eating nachos. You’re not looking worse than any of those zombies.”

There was shock on his face as he looked at her, his head finally turned completely, and his frown had disappeared as well. But the way he looked lost and whipped didn’t make her feel any better. She’d really insulted his pride, hadn’t she?

Maybe comparing a scarred millionaire to a zombie wasn’t the best course of action.

Her mouth dropped a little as she tried to come up with the right thing to say, but instead, she got up and took her plate and cutlery in hand, walking over to him and placing it down on the long side of the table.

He looked at her curiously, and she smiled as she said: “Come sit next to me, we can both gaze out the window while we eat then.”

Hesitantly, he got up as well, and he moved his chair and his plate over there as well, and when they were done moving, they were sitting side by side, gazing out the window while they ate.

“I do mean what I said,” Rey said softly as they continued eating. “I really have a strong stomach from watching so many horror movies. You’re not going to put me off my food just by looking at me. I don’t think you’re as ugly as you think you are.”

“I can’t even look at myself without my stomach turning,” he admitted softly, poking his jacket potato, but Rey could see how he wasn’t eating it.

“That’s because you know the difference better than anyone. I’ve just met you. To me, this is who you are now. This is how you look. I mean, sure, it’s a little creepy at first, but I bet you’d look a whole lot prettier if you smiled a little more.”

He turned to look at her slightly.

“I thought women hated it if men said that, so why would you say that to me now?”

Realizing that hadn’t made him feel better, she gulped. “Eh… Well… Mostly because it’s something I’ve heard a few times myself and I thought maybe there was some truth to it?”

They both sighed.

“I don’t feel like smiling much these days,” he admitted.

Rey couldn’t help but wonder if he didn’t have a therapist. He could certainly use one.

“That’s depression,” Rey said darkly. “It’s not great.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, and while the food was delicious, maybe she wasn’t enjoying it as much as when she’d had the meal without Gloomy Mcgloompants by her side.

When Opan came in to pick up their plates, he was surprised to see them sit side by side, but he did not comment on it. Shortly after he’d cleaned the table of their plates, he brought them a bowl of chocolate mousse.

Rey hummed in approval as she ate it. Chocolate was always a good way to lift the spirits, and the recipe was amazing.

“This is great,” she said. “So much better than the one I get from the local supermarket.”

Reminded of her humble origins, Hux did not comment on that.

When they were done, Rey still had her glass of wine to finish, and she proposed: “Want to sit in front of the fireplace? We’ve been staring out at a rainy scene all dinner – let’s look at something warm instead.”

“Something warm, like the fire that burned my face?” he asked darkly, and Rey gasped – not realizing how horribly inconsiderate her proposal must have been.

As she stood there in shock, she suddenly heard him chuckle.

“I’m just kidding, I have no trauma from fire – a bomb is quite a different thing than a regular warm fire, believe me.” He took his glass of water and went to take a seat, and Rey sat down on his good side, smiling as she looked into the fire.

“You know, your sense of humor isn’t so bad,” she complimented him. “You should use it more often.”

“Not many people to use it on,” he admitted.

“You should order more sim cards, I guess,” she teased him, and as she looked at him, she could see how he shifted his gaze to her.

“So your colleagues are just as well-mannered as you are?” he teased her in return, and she grinned.

“Probably better-mannered than me. But don’t think I’d let them come here instead of me. It’s not often I get a three star meal.”

“Actually, Opan used to work in a four star kitchen for a brief while, before he made his career change.”

Rey chuckled. “Well he has yet to prove he’s worthy of four stars. You’ll just have to invite me again one Friday evening.”

She could see he was smiling. He wasn’t a lost cause yet, she figured as she sipped from her excellent wine. Maybe she would like to join him in the bedroom more than she’d initially thought.


	6. The Bedroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opan's words have not been forgotten. Rey wants to try and seduce Hux - but can she do so without a little help?

At times, their conversation was serious, at others, flirtatious, but when Rey asked if she could be excused to go to her room, Hux did not protest.

Opan led her to the bedroom, opening the door to reveal an old bedroom, while he whispered: “This door opposite yours is my master’s. He usually comes up by eleven. Lights go out about fifteen minutes later.”

Rey just nodded. “Thank you,” she said.

She had no idea how she was going to do this – how she was going to try and seduce him, but she still had some time to think about it.

After Opan left, she went into the bedroom. She saw a massive four-poster bed – old and wooden and probably incredibly creaky – or that was what she thought, at least. The curtains around it were purple, and the curtains that hung in front of the high windows were made of the same fabric, while the rest of the room was a dark wooden color.

Rey figured it had to be hell to dust, but the place looked immaculate, like every other area of the house she’d seen so far.

There was a little door to the side of an unlit fireplace in the bedroom, and as she opened it she found a gorgeous bathroom.

She’d had a long day at work, a long drive to Arkanis, and a long evening in the presence of Opan and his cranky master, and she knew that a bath would do her some good. There was a bathrobe and even some fluffy slippers waiting for her behind the door, and she wondered if there was some spare clothing in the room as well.

Heading into a wardrobe, she found that it was empty, unfortunately, and so she figured she had to do with just the bathrobe for now.

After taking a long bath with rose-scented perfume, she was in the mood for romance, and as she checked her cell phone, she realized it was nearly eleven.

Then she realized there was a little bag on the bed. Had Opan left it there for her?

Heading to it, she opened it, hoping there would at least be some clean underwear in there, but instead, she noticed it was a box of condoms.

She gulped. Well, it _was_ thoughtful but perhaps not in the way she had hoped. She quickly slid two condoms in the pocket of her bathrobe.

As she went to the door to open it, she was just in time to hear footsteps on the wooden boards of the hallway. Peeking out of the door, she saw Hux was headed to his room, lost in thought and for once not turning his head away from her. She was reminded once more that he honestly did not look so bad, even with the scar.

The moment he looked up and saw her there, he jumped.

“Jesus!” He held his heart as he stopped dead in his tracks. “What? What are you doing here?”

He was so baffled that he forgot to turn away for a moment.

Rey didn’t realize why he was so surprised. “I eh… I was assigned this room?” She frowned. “It’s not yours, is it?”

He shook his head. “No, mine is…” He reminded himself to turn his scar away from her while he awkwardly pointed at his own door. “… there. But usually the guests sleep on another floor. I had not expected anyone in this room. It used to be my stepmother’s room.”

“Oh…”

That explained the surprise. How she was going to turn this conversation so that she would be invited into his bedroom, she did not know yet. She assumed the bathrobe wasn’t particularly sexy, nor were the slippers, for he wasn’t even looking at her.

“Have a good night,” he said, walking past her to open his door, and before she could come up with something to say – or even wish him a good night in return, he’d already closed the door behind him.

Cursing herself, she went back into her own room and let herself drop onto the massive bed.

It creaked like hell, and she moaned in the pillow in frustration.

+++

Half an hour later, the lights were off in her room, and she wasn’t any closer to falling asleep. She was bothered. Not just hot and bothered, but bothered in a bazillion ways. But also, yes, hot and bothered.

After Opan had basically given her the okay to try and seduce his master, she wanted to try it more than anything. But was she anything like what he wanted? He’d probably had women of class. She was most definitely not. And she didn’t even have anything sexy to wear, she was sleeping naked for now, saving her underwear for the next day, and sighed as she gazed up at the roof of the four-poster bed.

When there was a tap on the door, she got up immediately and put on the bathrobe that she’d put by her side on the bed, rushing over to open up.

Was it Opan? Was it Hux?

As she opened the door and saw Hux standing there, wearing a black silk pyjama, his good side turned to her, she gulped. He looked a little lost.

“Rey… Is this… Is this your note?”

As he showed her the paper, she wondered what on earth it said. Was it another one of Opan’s ploys?

“Depends on what it says,” she said cheekily, hoping to sound casual, but she was really curious about what Opan had written on there.

“Don’t toy with me,” he berated her, his voice firm. “I don’t find this a laughing matter.”

Rey opened the door a little wider and stepped out into the illuminated hallway with him. She closed the door behind her.

“I don’t know what it says,” she admitted honestly, and she saw how his shoulders dropped in disappointment.

“Never mind,” he said, heading towards his room, but she grabbed a hold of his hand and stopped him.

Surprised, he looked at her, once more forgetting to turn his head away from her.

Rey saw the opportunity and took it.

She leaned in before he would be reminded she was looking at him, and kissed him full on the lips.

For a moment she feared he was going to push her away or pull back from her and leave her alone, but he did not.

When they broke their kiss, Rey didn’t look at him – she knew he would not like that and instead let her hands rest on his chest, feeling his wildly beating heart.

“What did the note say?” she asked.

“That you wanted to sleep with me,” he replied, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

“I did not write that,” she whispered back. “But I do want that.”

She headed to his door – knowing it would probably freak him out to sleep in his stepmom’s bedroom – and opened it.

She was not going to wait for him to argue with her until they decided against this fling, and as she stepped into the room, he was close behind her, following her into the shadows.

He closed the door behind them, and the light also disappeared. The room was dark, very dark, but Rey did not mind. She felt him nearby, and suddenly his hands were on her hips as he stood behind her.

“Let me guide you,” he said softly, and as he led her to the bed, her eyes were getting used to the darkness a bit. She could see where the curtains were, and it seemed his bed was not a four-poster one, but it was massive, standing in the middle of the room.

She sat down on the bed and waited for him to join her, but he didn’t.

His first question was one she hadn’t expected yet: “Do you have condoms?”

“Slow down, tiger,” she teased him. “I’d rather you take it easy – but yes, I do have condoms!” Without hesitation, she took them from her pocket and reached for where she imagined his hand to be, sliding her hand down his arm until she could press them into his palm.

“Huh…” It sounded like he didn’t know what to think about her level of preparedness as he stood in front of her. “You do this more often?”

“What? Sleep with my clients? Of course not. Sleep with men?” She paused. “Well, duh, you’re not my first. But I do have to admit it’s been a while.”

He was quiet before he admitted: “For me too.”

She chuckled. “Imagine that,” she said dryly.

She wanted to look him in the eye while she teased him, and there was a hint of impatience in her tone as she asked: “Can we have a little light?”

“I’d rather not,” he replied.

She bit her lip. Sexy as darkness could be, it wasn’t completely safe.

“Look,” she insisted. “I at least want you able to see how you’re putting on the condom, to check if it’s ripped or not.”

She could hear his sigh, and for a moment she considered standing up and walking out, but then he replied: “Fine, but no kissing and don’t look at me.”

She sighed as well. “You know just what to say to make a girl feel special.”

“Do you want this or not?” he asked, a hint of frustration but also despair in his tone, and Rey realized that he did want her – but he had to be comfortable with himself as well, and it was obvious that he wasn’t, not when she could watch him.

“Yes, I do,” she replied, for once no sarcasm in her tone. “I’ll keep my eyes closed, and I won’t kiss you.”

She could hear him breathe a sigh of relief, and hoping he appreciated her bad attempts at humor, she joked: “Isn’t it every girl’s dream to be fucked by a desperate millionaire?”

“Ha ha,” he replied dryly. “Now close your eyes and lie on your back.”

Smiling and feeling rather pleased that he did seem to share her sense of dark humor, she did as he asked. When she heard a click, she knew he’d turned on a little light.

“Am I sexy to you, in this night robe?” she joked. She knew she wasn’t. It was a size too big for her and the fabric was so thick it made her look bloated.

“Not at all,” he replied darkly. “But I know how to improve that.”

She felt his hands against her stomach, untying the ribbon that held her robe together. When he opened it, she could feel the cool air brushing her nipples, and she arched her back in desire.

“Much better,” he whispered approvingly, and she loved listening to his praise.

She bit her lip as she waited for his hands to explore her further, but what she felt instead was his mouth on her nipples, followed by his tongue as he teased her.

Gasping at the sensation, she felt his lips turn to a smile against her, and she couldn’t help but smile as well as he gently sucked her skin. Usually she enjoyed a more active part in her sexual encounters, but there was something very erotic about trusting a stranger so blindly, in a rather literal way.

“Your lips are wonderful,” she breathed. “Are you certain you don’t want to kiss?”

As he continued placing kisses on the soft flesh of her breasts, she added: “You tasted lovely before.”

It was not enough to convince him – at all.

“I don’t kiss the women I hook up with,” he muttered. “Ever. What happened before was a mistake.”

“Ah…” She didn’t know what he meant precisely. Why didn’t he kiss them? Opan had said he didn’t do prostitutes, but wasn’t it very similar if he brought women to his house that he never kissed, just fucked? “Fair enough, I guess.”

She was growing wetter for him by the moment and could feel his hand against her knee, and she couldn’t help but hope he would spread her legs before him so he would enter her. When he stopped licking her nipples, she could hear him undress, and then the wrinkling sound of the condom wrapper before he put it on.

“On your knees,” he demanded, and at such a tone she could only comply, shrugging off the bath robe before she went to sit on her knees, her hands gently stroking the breasts he had so wonderfully teased before.

“Turn around,” he continued, and she obeyed. “Forward a bit.”

She could suddenly feel his entire body against her as he took her wrists and positioned her hands flat on the bed, so she was leaning forward a bit, and he left her a kiss in her neck that made her melt.

It was strange doing all this with her eyes closed, and she teasingly asked: “Won’t you let me watch you as you’re about to enter me?”

“Don’t worry,” he replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. “You’ll feel it instead.”

She purred in approval, moving her bum teasingly as she waited for him to deliver what he’d promised.

His warm hands on her bum made her hum in desire, and when he gave her a small spank against her naked flesh, she gasped at the sensation.

“Your ass is gorgeous,” he muttered approvingly, and when he started rubbing his length against her lower lips, she moaned in lust.

She was soaking wet for him and it didn’t take long at all before he entered her. Rey gasped as he pushed in deeper and deeper. Even though he’d just entered her, he was already setting a pace that was making her see stars.

“You’re so wet and hot I can hardly feel the condom,” he remarked. “I approve.”

She smiled at those words, only able to moan as he held her bum firmly in place. Every now and then he stroked her skin appreciatively before thrusting himself into her a little harder, clearly enjoying the sound of her moans and the power she was giving him.

She could only admit that it was the best shag she could remember in a long while, but was beginning to fear he was not going to satisfy her. She’d hardly thought it, or she suddenly found how he wrapped both of his hands around her stomach while one sunk even deeper between her legs, and she found herself arching her back in desire, which wasn’t doing anything to make it easier for him to reach her.

As he slowed his thrusting, he wrapped his arm around her waist and invited her to sit against him, and as she leaned her back into him, he was able to find her center a whole lot easier. He was still inside of her, though his thrusting had stopped, and she lightly moved over him while his fingers flicked her clit. He pressed his free hand against her lower stomach, and she found that it only helped for her arousal to build. The way he slowly moved into her while he was doing those things was enough to send her over the edge in a matter of minutes, and she moaned ecstatically as he gave her a fantastic orgasm.

She needed a breath as she came undone around him, but he would not give her one. Taking her wrists again, he placed them on the bed again so he could continue in their previous position, grabbing her waist firmly as he fucked her hard. Her moans were trilling to him, and by the time he was nearing his climax, he was moaning even louder, slamming into her as he drove her into another climax, and as he came, so did she, trembling all over as he shook against her in his afterbliss.

Rey let herself drop heavily on his bed the moment he pulled out of her. That had been a spectacular fuck, by all her standards.

After he crawled off the bed, he was still panting while he picked up his pajamas and headed into his bathroom to clean himself up.

Rey was breathing heavily, aware how she was still feeling him inside her – even when he was no longer in the room. Getting cold, now that he was gone, she let herself hide underneath his sheets, opening her eyes for the first time since she’d crawled onto his bed.

The place was dark but modern, and she relaxed against his pillows. Why any man would need a dozen, she did not know, but it _was_ comfortable.

When he entered the room again a few minutes later, wearing his nightclothes, he seemed surprised to find him underneath his sheets.

“Don’t you need to clean yourself up?” he asked, his head still turned from her, but not fully.

Rey sighed. She was comfortable, but she supposed he didn’t want her to make his bed filthy.

“Fine.”

She rolled out of bed and headed into his bathroom. As she sat on the toilet, she noticed the bottle caps on the sink. There was a lot of medication there – probably the reason he’d avoided alcohol earlier that day – and she wondered if all of it was for his scar and the healing process, or if there was more to it.

After she’d cleaned herself up, she headed back into his bedroom, careful not to look at him directly. She knew he would not appreciate it if she glanced at his scar.

She could feel his eyes on her body though, and felt herself get quite aroused at the thought.

Lifting the covers to join him in bed, she realized he suddenly stiffened and sat a little straighter.

“Usually nobody sleeps in this bed,” he said, and Rey raised her eyebrow.

“Besides yourself, I assume?”

He quickly nodded. “This usually isn’t where I fuck my guests either.”

For a moment she was quiet. Was he going to kick her out of the room? She frowned.

“Well we’re breaking some rules here tonight,” she said stubbornly, lifting the covers and crawling underneath. “I can still feel you inside me, and if you don’t cuddle me until that feeling goes away, then I’m leaving you a negative review on Tinder.”

As she crawled up against him, he still seemed a little frozen.

“I don’t have Tinder. Also, I don’t think you can leave negative reviews on profiles there.”

“I wouldn’t know,” she said as she wrapped her arm around his chest and rested her head in the crook of his armpit.

She felt him slowly put his arm around her. “What did you mean when you said you could still feel me inside you?”

He sounded utterly confused, and she was surprised by that.

“I can still feel you pounding,” she muttered. “Not as hard as when you were actually pounding into me, of course, but it’s there, like a sort of an echo or aftershock, or whatever you’d like to call it. My body is still not over it.”

He was silenced – surprised – and she had to admit that he smelled wonderfully. Part of her still wanted to kiss him, but if all the intimacy he allowed was this, then she was going to settle for it. Her fingertips gently moved over his chest, even if he was wearing the pajamas again, and after a few moments, she realized he was also gently brushing his thumb over the bare skin of her arm.

“It was very good,” she said softly.

Though she could not see it, she knew he was smiling from the tone of his voice as he replied: “Yes. It was. I’m quite pleased.”

“As am I,” she agreed.

There was silence between them once more, but it wasn’t awkward now.

“Is Opan paying you money for this?” he wondered.

“I bet he would,” Rey replied, not even offended by his question. What she’d done was unconventional. “He’s a decent butler, and quite a talented wingman too.”

Hux chuckled. “He crosses the line sometimes.”

“I bet he does. He left the box of condoms in my room.”

“And that note in mine,” Hux added.

“And he put me in the room opposite yours,” Rey reminded him.

“Yes, usually he puts them in a room far away from mine. He knew I wouldn’t have the gut to walk that far. No idea why he thought I would enjoy fucking someone in my stepmother’s bedroom though.”

They both chuckled at that, the sensation of their slightly shaking bodies a wonderful one, though she suddenly shivered, and he sensed it.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Cold,” she replied, holding him tighter. “Can I borrow a shirt or something?”

“Sure.”

He sounded sweet just then – something she hadn’t expected. She hated to let go of him as he slid out of the bed and went into his wardrobe.

“Would you like some pajamas?”

“That would be wonderful!”

When he returned, he looked at her as she lowered the blanket, and he admired her small breasts.

“I really like your body,” he admitted with a small smile on his lips, and Rey looked warmly at him as she realized his head wasn’t turned away from her in any way for once. He was just looking at her, maybe having forgotten about his scar for the tiniest moment.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said, taking the pajamas from his hands. “I wish I’d seen yours, though.”

He seemed genuinely surprised by that, and she noticed how he slowly turned his face from hers again. He was quiet and no longer looking at her, and she proposed: “If you promise to show me your body next time, I’d love to come again. Pun intended.”

His lips curled up into a smile at that. “Really?”

She hummed in agreement as she put on the silk pajama blouse. It was so soft and comfortable that she felt like a princess, before she moved his pajama pants beneath the blanket and wormed her way into those as well.

“Really,” she replied, opening up the blanket for him so he’d join her once more. “Free of charge.”

As he laid down, she was soon by his side again. “All I want as payment are cuddles.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”

“Good,” she muttered, closing her eyes, and he turned off the light on the bedside table before he lay down fully as well, Rey still wrapped up against him.

“Sleep tight,” he said softly.

“You too.”


	7. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Rey lay out the rules of what they are.

As Opan rolled a cart of breakfast into the master bedroom and found Hux still fast asleep with Rey against him, he smiled widely.

While he was pleased that it had worked, he honestly had not expected his master to actually spend the night with her. All forms of true intimacy were alien to him, but maybe Rey was teaching him a thing or two.

As he headed to the curtains and opened them, he cried out: “Rise and shine!”

With sunlight flooding the room, both Rey and Hux moved further underneath the sheets, moaning and groaning in disapproval.

“Breakfast has arrived, and master, I need to remind you that you have a conference call at ten.”

“It’s weekend,” Rey muttered from underneath the blanket, before it became too hot there and she came up for air, looking at Opan and the breakfast trolley that stood by the door. She could smell bacon.

Behind the curtain Opan had opened, wasn’t just a window, there was a breakfast nook in front of it, which could be closed by the curtain, if one so desired. And in the distance Rey saw clear skies over the tree tops. Whatever horrible storm had passed the night before was now long gone.

As Opan rolled the trolley closer to the breakfast nook, Hux emerged from underneath the blanket again, opening his eyes as he looked around the room, seeming lost for a moment, even if he lived there. He apparently needed a moment to wake up.

“Coffee,” he muttered, and he’d hardly said it, or Opan was already pouring him a cup and bringing it to him as he sat up in bed.

Rey smiled as she looked at him. His hair was so messy now that he’d slept, and she found it to look adorable. Opan caught her smiling.

“Some coffee for you too, Miss Rey?”

Rey shook her head. “No, do you have some orange juice or water?”

“Both,” he replied. “But in the kitchen. I will fetch some for you.”

As he left the room again, Rey sat silently by Hux’s side, keeping quiet as she allowed him all the time he needed to wake up.

The night light had hardly illuminated the room at all, she realized now. She could see how one wall was nothing but wardrobe, and she wondered how many clothes Hux had. In front of the bed, was an ottoman, and there were the two bedside tables, but other than that the room was pretty empty save for the wooden breakfast nook behind the black curtains.

Rolling out of the bed, she stretched elegantly as she stood by its side. His pajama pants were a little bit too long for her, and she seemed to be drowning in his sleeves as well. Brushing her fingers through her messy hair, she headed quietly towards the breakfast nook.

It was big enough for about four people to sit at, and she could not help but notice that Opan had once more put their plates opposite one another. She knew Hux wasn’t going to like that, and so she moved one plate to the side of the other, so they could sit next to one another instead.

As she sat down in the corner of the nook, he approached her, his cup of coffee in hand and his eyes still small while he was slowly waking up.

With a big smile, she patted the space next to her, and when he sat down, she put her hand on his leg.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked softly.

Not used to such attention in the morning, he nodded shyly.

“Yes. Thank you for asking.”

She looked out the window, not removing her hand from his leg as she gazed outside. She’d spent the entire night in his arms and was quite comfortable touching him for a while longer.

He put his hand on top of hers, and immediately she turned hers around so she could hold it. To her it came natural, to Hux it seemed like a new world was opening before him.

He’d never held hands before. He’d never cuddled anyone like he had that night. He had kissed a few women, when he’d been much younger, just a student who was eager for a night of sex and thought it was the best way to procure it, but as he’d grown older, he’d avoided that sort of intimacy. 

The moment the door opened again, he abruptly let go of her and instead he watched Opan enter with a tray of drinks.

“Some orange juice – fresh,” he assured them. “And some water. I also brought some extra slices of bread.” After he’d put everything on the table for them, Hux dismissed him.

“Thank you. Leave us.”

Opan bowed slightly before he left the room and Rey stared until he had gone.

“Were you afraid he was going to see us hold hands?” she asked softly.

“I’m not afraid of anything,” he replied stubbornly, his tone indicating that he was not amused by her question.

“Not even of kissing?” she teased him, not scared of his tone.

“No. I just don’t want to get herpes or something of the sort.”

“I don’t have herpes,” Rey said with a smile, still convinced he had to be afraid of her in some way.

“Why does it matter to you if we kiss or not? We’re not in a relationship – we’re not getting married or anything of the sort.”

Rey raised her eyebrows.

“Fair enough, but we are fucking. Fuckbuddies do still kiss in my book. A good kiss is half the foreplay, I always say.” 

He sighed heavily. “That’s what couples do. We are not a couple. I find it more comfortable not kissing. That way it’s pretty clear we won’t do holidays together and we won’t exchange presents and I don’t need to meet your father and ask for his approval to woo you.”

Rey snickered at that.

“Stop worrying, darling, my father’s already dead.”

He startled. That was the last response he’d expected, and only then did he realize how incredibly rude he must have appeared.

“Oh… Eh… I’m terribly sorry. That was inconsiderate of me to say.”

She chuckled. “Really, don’t worry. It wasn’t inconsiderate. You didn’t know. You couldn’t. But he died when I was five, as did my mom. There is no one you need to ask for permission to hang with me, just me.”

Surprised she had been orphaned at such a young age, he curiously asked: “Isn’t there a guardian that took care of you? An uncle or aunt or someone else that would beat the crap out of me for fucking you?”

She shook her head happily. ‘Nope! They didn’t care about me. I was on my own in the system. So as I said, I’m free as a bird, ready for fucking!”

She was sounding too light-hearted, dodging the topic a bit with her cheerfulness and bluntness, and he decided not to press the matter. But he had to admit that he was intrigued by her – even if in his mind, he’d already convinced himself it was just a physical thing between them.

They ate in amiable silence and companionship, and when she was done, she put her hand on his leg once more, even while he was still drinking some coffee, and he glanced at her curiously over his cup.

“You like touching me,” he stated, and she nodded as she sucked in her bottom lip.

She was flirting, and he felt his stomach squeeze together at the realization.

“Don’t you like being touched?” she asked, her tone soft as she did not stop rubbing his leg slowly. It made his skin tingle pleasantly.

“Not really,” he lied.

When she pulled back her hand, he realized that he didn’t want her to, and he reached for it before he guided it back to his leg.

“But you may touch me a bit,” he admitted.

Her hand slid higher up his leg, over the inside of his thigh, and she whispered: “Not a lot?”

He shifted where he sat, opening his legs a little wider as he looked down at her hand.

“I have a conference call in thirty minutes,” he whispered, more as a reminder to himself than to her, but he did not stop her as she found his bulge and gently kneaded him through the silk of his pajamas.

“How long would you need?” she asked him as she leaned into his ear, her voice no louder than his, and he shuddered at the sensation of her breath on his skin.

“Just a few minutes,” he replied, wanting to feel her skin directly on his. He took her hand and guided it inside his pants, and she hummed in approval. He closed his eyes and threw his head back. “Not long at all if you do it right.”

She’d jerked off plenty of men before, and though each man was different, she was certain she could help him. Without hesitation, she released him from the confines of his pants, and he hummed in approval as she stroked him, her grip on him firm enough to make him shudder in anticipation.

Seeing the size of him in her hand, she now understood why she’d felt him so long even after they’d stopped having sex the night before. She was a little bit sore, and that didn’t surprise her. He wasn’t that thick, but he was large, uncut, and very sexy.

She kissed his neck while she worked her magic, and as he’d said, it only took him a few minutes to come. He let out a low groan before he froze and came over her hands, and she pressed a few more kisses to his neck until he’d caught his breath again.

He offered her a napkin which she used to clean off her hands, and he appreciatively whispered ‘thank you’.

“You’re welcome,” she responded happily. “I should go and clean myself up. And I don’t want you to be late for your conference call.”

He nodded and tucked himself away again before he got up and she slid out of the breakfast nook as well.

“My clothes are in the other room,” she said slowly, realizing that this was where they were saying goodbye.

“Take your time,” he offered generously. “Opan will see you out when you’re done. He should be downstairs.”

She nodded as he joined her to the door of his bedroom. She wasn’t certain if she was welcome to contact him again. Maybe it was best to leave it up to him.

“I will leave Opan my number,” she suggested. “Feel free to call or text whenever you want.”

He nodded, and as she looked at him, he didn’t turn his scar away from her for once.

“Do you want money?” he asked, his voice a little tense, but completely serious.

She immediately shook her head, frowning at him.

“No. I’m not a whore,” she reminded him.

There was some kind of surprise in his eyes as he looked at her.

“You were really good,” she admitted with a smile. “I don’t mind returning for more. Just let me know when, okay?”

She saw how his lips almost curled up into a smile, and he seemed quite pleased with himself as she stood on her toes and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.

“Don’t be a stranger,” she told him, and he bit his bottom lip appreciatively as she winked at him and turned around to leave his room.

As he closed the door behind her again, he turned around and leaned his back against it, his fingers ghosting the spot on his cheek where she’d kissed him.

How any woman could want him, the way he looked now, he did not know. But he did know he was grateful. He was going to have to invite her again - soon.


	8. Pillow Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey doesn't hear from Hux anymore... Is he rejecting her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYS!!! I WAS SO SCARED!  
> Yesterday my pc crashed again. Couldn't turn it on again, couldn't post a new chapter!  
> Luckily, PC-dude was able to fix it this morning and I'm back in action!  
> If you see that you have broken USB ports, get them fixed. Mine broke like 4 years ago and apparently they were the cause now for short-circuiting the motherboard and such. May this be an important life lesson for you all! (Which I had to learn the hard way.)  
> Anyways, enjoy the new chapter and see you in the new millennium (hurr durr durr)

Rey didn’t tell anyone about the mysterious millionaire she’d fucked over the weekend. But Poe and Finn did remark how good her mood was on Monday, and she just smiled to herself.

By Wednesday, she was getting a little worried that Hux wouldn’t contact her. She’d given Opan her number, and he had been incredibly happy that things had gone so well that she had voluntarily left her number with him.

He’d said some other things that had made her feel quite proud.

First of all, he’d admitted that he hadn’t expected to find her still in bed with Hux by morning, and second, he’d told her that his master had never had breakfast with any of his lady-friends before either, and that he hadn’t been allowed to accept contact details for any of them.

But now she was beginning to worry that, though Opan had her number, Hux maybe wasn’t interested in her anymore. Maybe it had been better if she’d slept in the other room. He had seemed terrified of intimacy, and maybe she’d gotten a little too close for comfort and he was terrified to call her again.

By Friday evening, there was nothing left of her great mood of earlier that week, and she was feeling downright depressed and rejected due to the lack of communication. Every few minutes, she checked her phone, and she had even put the volume at maximum so she wouldn’t miss a thing, but as she sat in her small apartment, gazing out the window, overlooking more crappy flats like hers on the other side of the street, she feared that she had no reason to hope for another call.

Friday evening went by, and on Saturday morning she checked her phone again, sighing sadly as she realized there were no missed messages.

She’d been looking forward to his call all week. She was tired of going to clubs and pubs to hit up strange men. Having a fuckbuddy like Hux would have been perfect. But it seemed like her search had to begin anew. She just lacked the energy to start such an endeavor, and was quite down as she lay in bed, much longer than was productive.

When the phone suddenly rang, her heart jumped, and as she saw it was an unknown number, she sat up straight immediately, her heart racing while she answered.

“Hello, this is Rey?”

“Hello, Miss Rey. It’s Opan from the Hux residence.”

Her heart jumped. She decided that this was good. Maybe Opan would invite her!

“Hi Opan!” she said cheerfully. “How have you been?”

“Good, Miss Rey! Unfortunately, Hux has had a bit of a rough week.”

She immediately felt worry. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“Physically nothing has changed since last week, but mentally he’s… Well, let’s just say that he was in a great mood for a few days after you left, then the doctor came by, and after that he’s been terribly depressed. He’s hardly even working, and he’s still in bed.”

Rey didn’t tell him she was also still in bed, though it was nearing noon.

“He’s usually always up before nine, and I told him he should call you to cheer himself up a bit, but he’s just despondent.”

“Why?” she wondered.

“I’m not sure. He was worse after the doctor left, but he hasn’t told me why.”

“Shall I come over?” she offered. She wasn’t sure what she could do, but she knew she had to try.

“I honestly don’t know if he would appreciate it, but I know I would,” Opan said. “He’s got it bad.”

Rey took a deep breath. “I’ll be there as fast as I can,” she promised.

“Thank you, Miss Rey. I hope you can get him out of this mindset.”

“See you later.”

“Until later.”

+++

It had taken her a little over an hour to get ready and make the journey back to Arkanis. As she pulled up the massive driveway, she saw Opan was waiting for her in the doorway.

It was freezing cold, and she rubbed her gloved hands together as she walked over to him.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” he thanked her. “He still hasn’t left his bedroom.”

“Why isn’t he getting up?” she wondered, frowning. “Does he do this more often?”

“Usually he at least gets up to work,” Opan told her as he closed the door behind her, keeping his voice down. Though it was a massive house, he didn’t want his master to hear in case he did decide to come down. “He doesn’t sleep in unless he’s sick. And I know he’s not sick, but… he’s gone to bed quite early yesterday, and then this morning when I went to wake him, he told me to leave. I tried again later, but he got mad and told me to take the day off.”

“You’re still here,” Rey remarked.

“I’ve been here since he’s had his accident – and I’ve never taken more than a few hours off a day since then. To be honest, Miss Rey, I worry about him. I don’t want him to do anything stupid.”

“Suicide,” she said softly.

Opan nodded. “He was given some counseling in the hospital, but upon arriving home about a month or six ago, he has stopped talking about it – but he hasn’t been dealing all too well with it. I thought he was improving the past months, I thought he was over it after last weekend, but now it’s just gotten worse than ever.”

Rey sighed sadly. She felt responsible. Maybe he hadn’t been ready for such intimacy in his mindset, and she’d left him very little choice. “I’ll go see what I can do.”

“Shall I wait in the hallway?” Opan offered. “I’d rather be there, just in case he gets aggressive.”

Rey gulped. “In case you think that’s likely to happen, then yes, please be my backup.”

She wasn’t sure she was qualified to deal with this. Sure, she’d had extensive training in deescalating angry customers on the phone, but this was different. This wasn’t about a sim card or someone who couldn’t pay his bills – this was a man who felt he couldn’t pick up the life he’d had, who felt shame for how he looked, and who was terribly isolated from the rest of the world.

She wondered where his parents were, but she figured that they had to be gone, like hers. Why else would he be living here alone, when it was clear that this was the Hux residence, with all the ancient family heirlooms and paintings on the walls?

They made their way up, but before she entered the room, she took off her leather jacket and her gloves, handing them to Opan to hold. They shared a look from which she knew he was hoping she’d have more success than him in getting through to his master.

She opened the door and stepped into the darkness, the only light in the room that which came from the hallway.

“Go away,” she heard Hux say from where he lay in bed, and for a moment she hesitated.

He didn’t sound angry, just exhausted.

“Armitage, it’s me,” she said softly, silently walking further into the room, towards his bed.

He was facing the window, but didn’t turn to her as he replied: “I’m afraid I can’t entertain you today. Please, leave.”

She didn’t. She couldn’t. Slowly, she sat herself down on the other edge of his bed, like she was approaching a frightened animal. So far he hadn’t lashed out, and she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“I know,” she said quietly. “I wanted to check if there was nothing I could do to entertain _you_ today.”

“I’m not in the mood for sex,” he replied harshly, and Rey winced.

“No, sorry, that’s not what I meant…” She kept her distance for now and also tried to keep her voice gentle. “I mean that we could watch a movie or do some cooking or you could talk to me about your bombs, whatever you would like.”

“I don’t want to talk,” he said stubbornly.

The fact that he was still talking and not lashing out convinced Rey that he _did_ want to talk. Maybe he just didn’t realize it himself.

“That’s okay. Then we won’t talk. But I’ll be here in case you change your mind.”

Silence. She held her breath for a moment, but nothing else came from his mouth.

Making as little noise as possible and moving as slowly as she could, she took off her shoes and pulled her legs up onto the bed as well.

As she lay herself against the comfortable pillows where they’d spent the night the weekend before, she tried to listen for the sound of his breath. Though it was soft, she heard there was no steady rhythm to his breathing. He was either crying or hyperventilating and she moved a little closer to him. When she was close enough to put her hand on his back, she carefully did, feeling how he held his breath for a moment before he continued shaking with tears.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she tried to soothe him. “Not until you feel better.”

“I won’t feel better,” he sobbed miserably, and she gently rubbed his back.

“Please tell me why, Armitage…”

He slowly turned around and looked at her through teary eyes. She noticed that he had a bandage on his cheek, but didn’t stare.

“Will you close the door?” he asked in a small voice, and she nodded immediately. She knew that she didn’t have to fear aggression from Hux. He was upset, but not with her.

As she rolled out of bed and walked to the door, she saw Opan standing by the wall, looking at her questioningly, but she just smiled at him in a reassuring way. He nodded and stepped back, trusting her judgement of the situation.

After she closed the door and found herself in the dark, she took her phone to use its light to find her way back to the bed, and when she crawled back into it, she let the light die the moment she was by his side.

“I don’t know where to begin,” he said with a sad sigh.

“The doctor came?” she wondered. “Is that why you have that patch on your cheek?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I thought he would bring me better news, but he didn’t.”

“What did he say?”

She heard him sigh heavily.

“It wasn’t as much what he said, it was what he showed,” he explained. “I saw other patients like me – who had been maimed by explosives, and their corrective surgeries. Just in pictures. Their biggest success stories. But to me it wasn’t success that I saw. They all looked like freaks, Rey.” His voice broke. “They already tried grafting before, but my body rejected it, and it only made everything worse. And I can’t handle certain medications for certain types of grafting either. Some nearly gave me permanent kidney issues a few months back, so I had to abandon that treatment. I knew the doctor was looking into corrective surgery and I was hoping it would fix this mess, but it’s only going to make me stand out even more. I had hoped that at least in a few years, with the correct surgeries, I’d look good enough to pick up my old life, but I realize now that I was just lying to myself.”

He seemed to be done with his story, but Rey didn’t immediately know what to say.

“That would probably make me want to hide in my bed as well,” she admitted with a sigh. “I’m so sorry.”

“They look like freaks, Rey,” he lamented miserably. “I would look like a freak. It’s so unnatural it looks even worse than the scar I’ve got now. I’d look like the monster of Frankenstein.”

Not sure what she could respond to that, she moved closer to him and looked for his hand. Once found, she squeezed it. Maybe she could distract him from the horror of seeing his future.

“What did you want from life?” she asked. “Before you had the accident?”

Though he didn’t sound eager to talk about it, he did. “I always wanted to focus on my career first – to climb the ranks at work and make it to CEO or chairman – preferably before the age of forty. Then, with that settled, I’d look for a wife, so I could have a son and continue the family tradition.” He sighed sadly. “I never had brothers. But the way I look now, I’m not sure I can ever have any of those things. My colleagues can hardly stomach the sight of me, and what kind of woman would promise herself to me forever? I’m going to have to find someone who’s blind.”

Rey’s heart broke. If she found him attractive in some way, surely other women could feel the same? Not that she was charmed by his personality – he was conceited and rude, and she felt mostly pity for him. If his heart was brighter, she imagined it wouldn’t be so hard to love him.

“I think you’re seeing things darker than they are,” Rey said softly. “I think you could still find a wife.”

“Yes,” he replied darkly. “Plenty of women can be bought. Plenty of ugly white men buy post-order brides from Asia. But that’s not for me. I had at least hoped to find a woman of my station, but they only care about looks.”

“Just like you do, you mean?” Rey asked slowly.

His voice sounded frustrated. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You only seem to care about how you look. Screw how you look. Focus on how you feel – focus on what you do. You’re not as horrifyingly looking as you think you are, and once you stop treating yourself like you’re a freak, maybe people will actually start to like you.”

“I doubt it. My kind just doesn’t take kindly to the ugly.”

“Your kind?” Rey asked, confused for a moment.

“The elite,” he replied. “They can’t look glamorous with a freak among them. They won’t enjoy the reminder of their own mortality either.”

Rey frowned. “I think you’re judging people – and yourself – a little harshly. You need to be kinder to yourself.”

She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand.

“Kinder. Like you are?” he asked softly.

“I’m not always kind,” she replied.

“But you’re kind to me now,” he acknowledged.

“Yes,” she said briefly. “Am I kind enough to convince you to go and take a shower and have lunch with me?”

He was quiet as he considered it.

“If I find out Opan is paying you, I will be very disappointed.”

“He isn’t,” she assured him. “Shall I go and get us something to eat? Is there something you want in particular?”

He gave it some thought.

“Sushi,” he decided.

“Say no more. I will check with Opan where I can get some. Shall I open the curtains?”

“Not yet, please.”

“Okay.”

Before she rolled off the bed, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. She could taste the tears that had fallen moments before.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Ok,” he replied in a small voice, and she made her way out of the room.

As she entered the hallway, she saw Opan was still standing there. He held his breath as Rey closed the door behind her and then walked down the hallway. Once they were far enough so Hux wouldn’t hear, she said: “He wants sushi.”

Opan breathed a sigh of relief.

“There’s a really good sushi place in town.”

“If you give me the address, I will go and pick some up.”

“Let me give you some money,” Opan offered, but Rey shook her head.

“Don’t. I think it would break his heart if I gave the impression I was doing this for money or freebies.”

“It’s more than fair that you receive money for his lunch,” Opan argued. “You’re the one working in customer support, not him.”

“I know. But then I shall ask him for that money myself, and I won’t arrange it behind his back with you. He would think you’re sliding me extras.”

Opan could agree to that. As Rey headed outside and put on her helmet, she looked up at the castle. It was such a dark and gloomy place for such a dark and gloomy spirit as Hux. Maybe sushi would help, for now, but she needed to get him out of there, somehow.


	9. The Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey lures Hux out of his shell... into the garden.

When she returned with the sushi, she headed to his room, finding the door open, as well as the curtains.

It had taken a while to travel into town and get the sushi he wanted – the place had been packed, but now that she’d returned, she felt very satisfied that she’d been able to get Hux one of his favorite treats.

“Armitage?” she asked, wondering where he was.

“I’m in here,” he replied, his voice coming from the bathroom.

The door wasn’t closed, and as Rey pushed it open, she saw he had put on some pants, but was still shirtless as he was shaving himself.

He was using a shaving knife, not an electric razor, Rey remarked, and as he looked at her in the mirror, he dryly said: “The good part is that, when it comes to shaving, I’m done twice as fast as other men.”

She saw how he carefully avoided shaving his sideburn, and watched him from the doorway as he cleaned himself up when he was done.

Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was enjoying the view a lot. He was thin, but not too skinny. She hadn’t been granted much of a look last time. He’d left her in the dark and had gone straight into his pajamas. But now that she was allowed to sneak a peek, she realized that his chest seemed pretty hairless too.

“You’re quiet,” he remarked as she’d started dreaming away.

“Admiring the view,” she teased him, and he raised his eyebrow at her.

“Have you got a fever?” he joked, and she chuckled.

“No, feel free to feel for yourself.”

As he stepped closer and put the back of his hand against her forehead, his eyes went wide.

“You’re so cold!”

“It is winter,” Rey reminded him dryly. “Actually, it’s not so bad – it’s quite lovely outside. The sun is rather warm if you wear black. Shall we eat our sushi outside?”

He looked at her as though she’d gone insane.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You’re not joking?”

She quickly shook her head. “Not at all. Besides, I would love to see your garden.”

“It’s mostly shrubberies and grass,” he said apologetically.

“I’d still like to see it,” she insisted. “In exchange for the sushi.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to withhold me the sushi that is rightfully mine?”

“Rightfully yours?” she asked, gasping. “I’m sorry but I paid for it, and I got it, so it’s mine! And I’m taking it into the garden!”

As she left the bathroom and rushed to the door, he followed her, trying to take the bag of sushi from her hand, but she lifted it out of reach and beat him to the door while he quickly stopped and then went into his wardrobe to grab a sweater.

Before he could catch up to her, she ran towards the stairs, but she made sure she was never too far ahead of him.

When she saw him coming, she rushed down to the ground floor, and headed towards the door, and when he was down the stairs, she quickly headed outside, smiling.

So far it hadn’t been difficult to get him to go outside, even if his mood had been so foul before, and as she headed to her bike, she realized there wasn’t a spot in the front gardens for them to sit. Maybe she’d find a bench or patio in the back?

He never left her from his sight as he followed her around the house. She seemed to be looking for something – probably a place to eat behind his mansion – and as he noticed she was about to walk past it, he shouted: “To your left!”

As she looked at the large wall, she realized she heard water behind it, and it didn’t take her long to find the fence gate that led into a tiny rose garden.

Though no roses bloomed in winter, and the fountain seemed bleak without its lilies, it was still a lovely place to be. There was plenty of sun that shone between the four walls of the garden, and there was a small patio with a white metal table and matching chairs.

It looked quaint, but not at all cheap. Even here, it felt expensive as she admired the curves and craftsmanship of the seating. Placing her bag down on the table, Hux finally caught up with her, and he wrapped his arms around her waist for a moment.

“So this is your sushi?” he asked, looking over her shoulder as she pulled out the small trays and chopsticks.

She hummed happily.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” he muttered. “What do you want in return for it?”

She pretended to think long and hard about it.

“A kiss,” she decided.

He froze, and the moment he did, she gulped. They’d been so playful for a brief moment, almost affectionate, but apparently the value of a kiss was far greater than that of sushi to him. To her, it was the other way around.

“I can pay for it,” he said as he let go of her and instead took a seat by the table, not looking at her.

“That’s alright,” she replied. “I thought for a moment that maybe you wanted more tonight, and I do love a good kiss during foreplay.”

He gulped heavily as he looked at her, and in the sunlight it seemed like he really hadn’t been outside in ages. He was pale as a ghost and there were dark rings underneath his eyes she’d not noticed before.

The patch against his cheek made him a little more confident in her presence though. He hadn’t turned his head away once.

“It’s weird to consider you’re willing to pay _me_ for sex… with sushi, of all things,” he said darkly as he grabbed the wasabi.

“I’ve got peculiar tastes, and prefer peculiar payment methods,” she teased him as she sat down opposite him and broke her chopsticks apart. “Are you up for it, or am I too quick to ask? If not, then I just want to say that I don’t take offense. Feel free to say no or postpone it until another day. I can always come back.”

He looked at her with a frown, trying to understand her, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of her.

“You confuse me,” he admitted, and she chuckled because of it. “How can you be so eager to have sex with me?”

She shoved some sushi in her mouth and replied: “You’re pretty darn good at it, Armitage.”

He wrinkled his nose at the sight of how she replied with her mouth full, and when she noticed that she quickly swallowed it down before she continued.

“Let me give you an overview so you know where you stand,” Rey said playfully. “One – your dick is amazing. Two – your stamina is good. Three – you made sure I came. I can’t tell you how many men really don’t care about that. Four –“

He was already blushing crimson at this point.

“You know what you want in bed. Five – you’re a good kisser, from what I can tell from the kiss I stole when I caught you by surprise. Six – you have beautiful hair. Seven – you take care of your body well – minus that time you created a bomb that blew up in your face.”

He rolled his eyes at her crudeness, but even he couldn’t hide his smile at her candid honesty.

“Eight!” It seemed like she was nowhere near done. “I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to be in the bed of a man who sleeps in clean sheets. I’ve slept with pigs before where I didn’t even want to cuddle and spend the night. Nine!”

He raised his hand to stop her.

“Okay okay…” He couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “You made your point.”

She was glad she had successfully cheered him up.

“Well – do you think you can beat me – or match me? Could you say nine nice things about me now?”

“Nine?!” He had not expected this to be a game.

Rey was already insulted and raised an eyebrow.

He gulped. “I… can try,” he said slowly.

He couldn’t recall giving anyone as many compliments before. Heck, he couldn’t remember giving as many compliments in his life, leave alone in the span of a few minutes.

“Well… This one’s easy… One – fantastic bum and legs – unrivaled, really.”

She beamed proudly at that. Maybe not as much about what he said – but just the fact that he was playing the game with her.

“Two – your tits. Much smaller than I thought I would enjoy, but they’re actually perfect the way they are.”

He stopped to think, and as Rey put another bit of sushi in her mouth, she realized he was taking a lot of time.

By the time she gulped the sushi down, she shook her head.

“Wow, you really know how to flatter a girl,” she remarked dryly.

“I’m thinking!” he berated her for interrupting his train of thought, and while he thought, he ate a bit of sushi himself.

She just waited.

“Three –“ he continued in a more serious tone. “You listen. Really well, actually. Four – you’re intelligent, as you proved in our very first conversation on the phone. Five – you’re not a bad kisser yourself. Six…”

He looked at her, and she knew that he was looking for things to like about her.

“Cute nose.”

She wrinkled hers, and he smiled because of it.

“Seven - your eyes.”

“What about them?” she asked playfully.

“They’re pretty,” he said as he looked into them, and she blushed. “They express a lot. Mirrors to the soul and all that. And I think your soul is…” He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, recognizing how excited she was to hear him say all these things. “Well… Many things.”

“Like what?” she asked with a big smile.

“Curious… Witty… Kind.”

She was quite pleased with that assessment.

“I guess that soul-bit can count as number eight!” she remarked. “Can you even me out at number nine?”

He bit his lip, then smiled cheekily.

“Well, easy! Your pussy.”

She blurted out laughing at that.

“I guess that’s fair,” she chuckled. “I did compliment your dick, did I not?”

He smiled at her, and she was thrilled to see how easily and quickly she’d been able to distract him from his dark thoughts of before.

Maybe she couldn’t take full credit for that. No doubt about it that the wonderful sushi and the lovely garden had helped to lift his mood, and they talked about their favorite sushi for a while until they were all done, just sitting in the garden.

“Do you come outside a lot?” Rey wondered, but Hux shook his head.

“No, not really. I don’t enjoy summers.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too hot. And I get freckles if I stay out in the sun for too long.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at him.

“Armitage, hate to break it to you, but you’re missing like half your face and you’re worried about getting freckles?”

Realizing how stupid that was of him, he suddenly laughed.

“I hadn’t considered that. Fair enough. Though I suppose that it’s better not to tan, with the scar tissue I have. It would make it look even more out of place. If I’m pale it doesn’t stand out as much.”

Rey’s voice was soft as she said: “You’re going to stand out regardless… If being outside brings you any joy or benefit, I wouldn’t use your looks as an excuse to avoid it. Just do what makes you feel better about yourself.”

Though he wasn’t certain he would heed that advice, he did appreciate her giving it. She was nothing if not understanding.

“Ten, you’re very wise,” he complimented her, and she smiled brightly.

She wrinkled her nose.

“Okay. You win.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best wishes for 2020 everyone! May all your ships become canon! (Though not like Reylo. Never like Reylo... Sure, it became canon... but at what cost?)


	10. Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Hux fuck, then talk.

After spending a lovely afternoon in the garden, Hux was the one to ask her if she wanted to go to the bedroom with him.

She didn’t say no. In fact, she had hoped he would invite her there if he felt better, and it seemed he did.

She let him set the tone, and this time he did not darken the room. The lights were off, but the curtains were open, and though it was getting darker outside, it was still light enough for Rey to see him, and to enjoy the sight of him taking off his sweater and shirt.

The patch on his cheek really emboldened him, and she wondered why he didn’t wear it all the time, if it gave him so much of his confidence back, but at the same time she figured that maybe it wasn’t good to the healing process to cover up the skin all the time.

“Take off your clothes, Rey,” he told her, and she loved how he used her name. “And once you’re naked, I want you to take a quick shower.”

She was a tiny bit confused. She’d showered in the morning already. But she guessed that maybe that wasn’t enough for him.

Seeing her mild hesitation, he assured her: “You wanted a kiss. And I shall kiss your body all over – but I’d rather you take a quick shower before I get to that.”

Emboldened by the promise of a kiss, she nodded and headed into his bathroom. She took a tiny shower – just a minute or two, before she quickly dried herself off and headed into his bedroom again.

She noticed the box of condoms on the bedside table, as well as the way he was waiting for her in nothing but his briefs, laying quite relaxed in the pillows.

He looked at her approvingly as she walked over to the bed, then crawled over him, and he placed his hands on her hips.

“Do you have lingerie at home? I just realized that last time, you were naked as well, and from what I saw just now, you’re wearing rather plain underwear.”

Rey shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t really spend money on lingerie.”

“Why not?” he wondered. “Isn’t it something you enjoy wearing?”

Rey gulped. The fact that he needed to ask made her feel a little nervous at the prospect of explaining it.

“It’s a bit of a luxury product,” she told him. “It’s very expensive, for something that isn’t functional at all. I prefer spending my money on other things, or just saving up for the future.”

He looked her in the eye, a small hint of confusion making way for understanding.

“If I give you money for it, will you buy something for me?”

Rey frowned. “For you to wear or for me to wear?”

He chuckled. “For you. Though if you wish to buy something for me, I’d at least be intrigued to see what you get me.”

Slowly, she nodded. It was a generous offer, and she would take him up on it if it pleased him as well as her.

“What would you like me to wear?”

He shook his head. “That’s not up to me to decide. You wear what’s you. The women that I slept with had many different kinds of lingerie – but I feel like it gives away something about their personality and sexual preference too – so I’m very curious to see what you think is _you_. I don’t want to influence that with what I like seeing myself. To be honest, what is worn is not as important as the fact that I get to unwrap it.”

She smiled in agreement. His hands had been on her hips all that while, but now they moved to her bum as he kneaded the flesh there and she just looked at him. They were sharing a lot of eye contact, and she found his eyes to be quite beautiful. His ginger lashes were adorable, and there was something incredibly soft about the shape of his eyes, even if his lust and desire for power were evident from his gaze as well.

“I enjoy this,” he admitted as he still looked at her with his hands on her bum. “The fact that there’s no ulterior motive to you being here with me.”

“There was with the other women?” Rey wondered.

He nodded darkly. “Yes. They wanted the power and wealth that came with my name. They seduced me, I played along, but then in the mornings they were offended when I didn’t have breakfast with them and let Opan show them the door.”

Rey bit her lip as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

“To be honest, I can relate a little bit to them… They were probably hoping for something serious – not to get played by the person they might have thought to be prince Charming.”

Hux rolled his eyes. “I didn’t kiss them. I didn’t instigate the chase. Why would they think of me as prince Charming? Why would they still hold out hope for romance?”

Rey shrugged. “Women are romantic. We enjoy the wooing and the presents and the flowers and soft declarations of love.”

“Well, then they should have waited for that before they jumped into bed with me, and not complain afterwards,” he said stubbornly.

“Fair enough,” Rey replied, deciding not to judge him too harshly if she hadn’t been there.

“Some of them didn’t even want me to wear a condom,” he replied, apparently offended. “Like I was ever going to repeat the mistakes of my father and make a bastard child.”

Rey’s eyebrows shot up.

“You have a bastard sibling?”

He frowned. “No, of course not. _I’m_ the bastard child. My stepmom was actually my dad’s real wife, but she’s not the one who bore me. I was the child of a kitchen aid.”

“Oh.” Rey really didn’t know what to say.

“Once I was born, father made an agreement with her that he would take custody and take care of me, then he fired her.”

Rey’s mouth had dropped and she sat rather tense in his lap. She could hardly believe how crude that sounded. No wonder Hux knew nothing of true intimacy with women.

“So I hope you understand a little better why I’m so upset with the audacity of women who want me to refrain from using a condom. I don’t want to repeat the mistake of my father and have a child out of wedlock. It did not make our own family any nicer, not having a real mother around. And my father wasn’t particularly happy with my existence either. It’s the last thing I would wish upon any child, to feel unwanted, or like you’re the wrong child, ready to be replaced the moment your father has a child with his actual wife.”

Rey’s empathic gaze encouraged him to continue talking.

“For a long while, I was terrified my stepmother would have a child of her own. If she did, I’m certain they would have disowned me. Luckily, they never had a child, and they’re dead now, and I’m still here.”

Though he sounded relieved at that, Rey’s heart was heavy. It sounded terribly lonely, in the same way that she often experienced the crushing loneliness of not having family around.

“I’m sorry if I’m dragging you down,” he apologized, sitting a little straighter, as though he’d just woken up. “I mean, you’re naked and I’m just babbling on about unimportant things. Terribly sorry about that.”

She chuckled, amused by him.

“Don’t apologize,” she said, putting her hand on his cheek, and he seemed surprised by the gesture. “I enjoy listening to you talk. We have a few things in common, and I also want you to know that I have no intention of becoming pregnant from this. The last thing I would ever want to do is guilt-trip someone into a long-term relationship. That sounds horrible.”

He was quite pleased to hear that, and moved his hands over her bum again. It seemed like he was eager to get on with it.

“I promised you some kisses,” he reminded himself, and while Rey’s heart beat a little faster at the thought of sharing a passionate kiss with him, he instead started kissing her neck and jaw.

It felt sexy and hot, and it was turning her on, but it wasn’t the type of kiss she’d hoped for.

Maybe she’d never get that kiss. After all, they were just fuckbuddies. Nothing more. She reminded herself that overthinking it wasn’t going to help her, and instead enjoyed the attention he was giving her.

He moved his kisses from her neck to her thighs, and she was relaxing blissfully in the sheets. Physically, he left her very little to desire, except that kiss. Though he didn’t give her oral, he did bring her to her first climax with his fingers alone, and by the time he put on his condom, Rey had recuperated to the point that she put her hand on his chest and pushed him down on his back.

He complied without protesting as she straddled him and rode him until he could take no more and came, his body shuddering all over from the intensity of his release.

He was still coming down from his high when he felt how Rey nestled herself against his side and drew his blanket over the both of them. It felt warm and secure and he didn’t protest to that.

For a moment he wondered if she was going to want to sleep. They hadn’t even had dinner and it was way too early for that. He also wanted to clean himself up, but she had stated before that cuddling was important to her.

Though they’d talked so much before, during their lovemaking they hadn’t spoken at all – everything they had wanted from each other had been clear from the way they had gazed in the other’s eyes.

Right now, he didn’t want her to fall asleep just yet, and he decided to pick up the conversation again, even if she seemed perfectly content with the silence between them.

“Are there rules to being fuckbuddies?” he wondered. “Something I’m not aware of that I should know?”

Rey was quite happy in his arms, and she thought about it for a brief moment.

“Basically, we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend, and so you’re free to pursue other relationships. You can break it off at any time that you no longer want it. Communication is important, a bit like in a regular relationship. I would expect you to tell me if you were to have another, serious relationship. I am your fuckbuddy, but that doesn’t mean I would be your mistress if you had someone else.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. So if you find someone else, you’ll tell me too?”

She didn’t like considering that at the moment.

“Yes, I will. Though at the moment, I’m really not looking for anyone. And I’m having fun with you.”

It relaxed him to hear that.

“Yes, this is fun indeed.”

Even though he said it, he still sounded like he’d never had actual fun in his life.

“Basically we’re buddies, and we fuck. So you can talk to me about anything, and I’ll help out, but it’s like, without the gifts and such, and we can still call ourselves ‘single’ and not worry about meeting the family.”

“Well, you said you didn’t have a family either, and neither do I, so that was never going to matter much.”

“Indeed.”

He was gazing up at the ceiling as the room turned darker due to the fact the sun had set, and wondered: “What happened precisely to your family? You said you grew up in the system. You were five?”

“When they died, yes,” Rey admitted softly. “But I was four when I ended up in the system. They kind of left me there. They were junkies, and their family wanted nothing to do with them, or me.”

As she grew very quiet after that, he wondered what was going through her mind.

“Is that why you want me to hold you after sex?”

“What?” She sounded confused.

“Well…” He felt awkward for mentioning it now. “You must be a bit scared of being left on your own again, and having sex with someone is a bit of a vulnerable thing, so being left on your own right after sex can be… well, very sad, if you’re used to being abandoned.”

She was quiet and held him a little tighter.

“I’d never considered it like that. Didn’t other women want to hold you?”

“Some, yes,” he admitted. “Not all. And I can imagine the reasons to be different. But you’re okay with just having a fuckbuddy, yet at the same time you want safety, if only for a little while. I’m guessing that’s because you didn’t feel very safe or wanted as a child.”

“Maybe,” she said softly.

“I never wanted to hold anyone after sex,” he muttered, going over it in his mind. “I’d always hop into the shower or go back to my own room.”

“You fear intimacy,” Rey said softly.

Now he was the one that considered it. “What’s there to be afraid of though?”

“You tell me. Rejection, maybe? Or maybe the fear that you’ll like it enough to get trapped into a relationship you’re not emotionally ready for?”

He frowned. “I am emotionally ready for a relationship,” he said stubbornly.

“Really?” she wondered. “How many have you had?”

His silence told her enough.

“How many have you had?” he asked instead, trying to divert the attention from himself.

“A few,” she replied in a whisper. “None that lasted very long.”

“Why did they end?”

She took a deep breath.

“It wasn’t love. Not on both sides.”

“On your side or theirs?”

“Depended on the relationship. Sometimes I was quite in love, but felt used. Other times I gave into the relationship because I wanted to please the other person without thinking of my own lack of interest. In the end, those relationships were doomed to fail from the beginning.”

As Hux softly rubbed his thumb over the skin of her arm, he wondered if he’d ever have a normal relationship. He’d waited too long, perhaps, and with his current look, he doubted anyone would want to stay with him. Luckily Rey was here now to keep him company – for however long this lasted.

“I do hope that one day you find someone to love who loves you back in the same way,” he offered gently, and she smiled against his chest.

“I hope the same for you. You’re a good therapist.”

He chuckled at her little quip. “As are you. I hadn’t expected this.”

“Expected what?”

“For it to be more than physical. Not romantic, I mean, but… personal.”

“We look out for each other,” Rey decided. “Sexually, physically, but also emotionally. I don’t want to do anything that hurts you. I want you to feel safe with me.”

He nodded. “I do. Thank you.”

Smiling, she moved out of his arms a bit and sat up, gazing down at him. She moved closer to his face and gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

“Want to join me in the shower?”

Though for a moment he seemed eager to join her, he shook his head and indicated the patch on his cheek.

“I have to be careful with this.”

“Okay. You can take a bath then. Join me in the bathroom so I’m not lonely?”

He smiled at her. “Okay.”

+++

After they had showered and bathed, they walked downstairs again, and Hux escorted Rey towards the door. Rey had said that she hoped it wouldn’t be too cold on the drive home, and so he figured that she didn’t want to stay much longer.

Once in the hallway, Rey turned to look at him, seeing his gentle gaze on hers.

“I like how you seem more confident wearing the patch on your cheek,” she admitted. “But for how long do you need to wear it now?”

He shrugged and averted his eyes. “Not sure, a few days, a week, maybe two. They did some cutting, so I’ve got a bit of an open wound at the moment. It needs to be cleaned daily, until the wound closes again.”

Rey frowned. “Why did they cut it?”

“Scar tissue,” he replied. “It was growing in a way that would make the grafting uglier, so they’re hoping by cutting away some of it, it would heal better.” He frowned. “It’s never going to look fine.”

She looked at him empathically. He was feeling quite down about that still.

She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug.

“It might not look fine, but _you_ will be fine,” she told him. “And in the worst case scenario, you can wear a patch if that makes you feel less ashamed.”

“At least I’m not so worried about disgusting you while I wear this.”

“You don’t,” she insisted, pulling back from their embrace. “Even without it. I never knew you without the scar. This is what you are to me.”

That didn’t seem to cheer him up, and he just nodded. “I hope you have a safe drive home. Will you let me know when you’re home safely?”

Rey’s eyes lit up. “Opan has my number, but I don’t have yours.”

He frowned. Of course. He never gave his number to anyone.

He held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

She quickly unlocked it and opened her contacts before she handed it to him. He tapped in the number before he called it, then hung up. “I have your number too now,” he said.

“I’ve got Tuesday off,” she told him as she headed to the door. “I understand if you don’t, but I just thought I’d let you know.”

He felt a hopeful squeeze in the pit of his stomach as she said that, and quickly nodded, trying to suppress his smile. “I’ll think about it.”

Rey smiled as well, and part of him wanted to stop her as she reached for the door. In his mind, he saw himself pull her leather jacket off of her again. They could spend more time in bed, if he was brave enough. But he wasn’t and just stared as she opened the door.

“Bye, Armitage!”

“Bye, Rey!”

As she closed the door behind her, he walked to the window, watching her as she hopped on her motorcycle, put on her helmet and drove down the lane again, until she disappeared down the road and he was left with nothing but the hope he’d see her again soon.


	11. Waterfall

Rey had just arrived home and texted Hux she was home safely, when he already sent her a message that he’d love to see her on Tuesday again.

Delighted that he was so eager to hook up, she asked him at what time she was welcome, and he replied that whatever time she picked, would be good for him.

Not wanting the conversation to end just yet, she decided not to pick a time, and instead teased him by texting: “That gives me a few days to go lingerie shopping!”

He replied with nothing but a winking emoji, and she wasn’t certain what to respond to that. Texting more would maybe make her seem a bit desperate for his attention, and so she decided to make herself some dinner instead.

Only a few minutes later, her phone buzzed again, and she saw he had added: “I wouldn’t say no to a preview.”

She chuckled.

“I’d rather you suffered a bit before the big reveal.”

“Tease.”

It did leave her with a very clear goal: she had to find some lingerie.

After dinner, she immediately headed outside again, and she drove all the way to a sex shop that was open 24/7. She’d only entered it once before, and had been too shy to really browse around the place for very long, but this time she really looked at everything.

She saw several cheap roleplaying costumes on a rack, but frowned at the sight of those. Many were very low quality, and she had no intention of wearing them.

But she did enjoy the sight of long net stockings and garters to go with matching sets of lingerie made of soft silks and cotton lace. There was one corset that had some leather in it as well, with matching leather underwear, and she loved how badass it looked. She could combine it with netted stockings, and it made her quite excited as she paid for it and took it home with her.

That evening, she texted him: “I’ve bought something nice.”

Even though it was close to midnight, he replied nearly immediately.

“Pic?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, sorry. I don’t trust sharing that sort of thing online.”

“Fair enough,” he replied immediately. “Guess I’ll erase all the dick pics I was about to send you.”

She laughed before she responded: “A pic can’t match up to the real deal anyways.”

Another wink came as a reply, and she just stared at her screen a while longer, until the next message came in.

“Off to bed now. Sleep tight. xxx”

It was cute how he was sending her virtual kisses – especially considering the fact he refused to give her any real ones.

“xxx. Sleep tight!”

Tuesday couldn’t come fast enough.

+++

By the time Rey left in the morning, there was a bit of frost on the ground. She lived in the city, where she only noticed it once she drove by the park, but once the busy city was behind her, she saw the true magic the cold had brought that night. It made the drive to his mansion even more like a fairytale than usual.

When she arrived and Opan opened the gates for her, she smiled at the sight of the beautiful, crisp, white grass was, and Opan stepped out and awaited her on the driveway.

“Miss Rey, please, follow me to the garage. It’s too cold to leave your motorcycle out here all day.”

She nodded but didn’t take off her helmet, and slowly drove behind Opan as he walked towards the garage and opened one of the roller doors to it. As she parked her Harley inside, she saw that there were three expensive cars in there, as well as a Yamaha.

Though the cars were probably worth more, she didn’t really care about them and inspected the motorcycle instead.

“Like it?” Opan asked, closing the roller doors behind her, and Rey took off her helmet, running her hand through her messy hair.

“Not as much as my Harley – but it looks very decent. Sporty. Fast. Do you ride it a lot?”

He grinned. “Last Saturday afternoon I did. Came back when you’d already left. You certainly managed to put the master in a good mood.”

She smiled sweetly. “Glad to hear it. Has his mood been steady since?”

He nodded. “Yes, no more setbacks so far. He was looking forward to you dropping by today. I’ll be leaving soon. Dropping by my mom’s place.”

“She lives nearby?”

“Yes, I’m an Arkanis native. Taking one of the master’s cars though, I’ve got to take my mom shopping. She’s in her seventies and past the point where she’ll sit on the back of my motor.”

“Understandable,” she replied. “If I don’t see you anymore, hopefully until soon?”

Opan nodded, very pleased with that answer.

“Is he growing on you?” he wondered before she was able to walk away, and Rey just shrugged.

It was a dangerous question, and she didn’t really know what to respond.

“I guess,” she replied, dodging the question. “See you next time!”

As he waved at her, she left the room, but then she figured that she didn’t really know where Hux was. There were so many rooms... It made sense to first go to the places where he was most likely to be. She knew his bedroom, the kitchen, his lab… And looked for him in that specific order.

His bedroom was empty though, the lights were off in the kitchen and dining room, and as she walked down his lab, she realized he wasn’t there either.

Not sure where else to look for him, she took her phone and sent him a text.

“Where are you? I’m in the lab.”

She waited for a few moments, but there was no reply. Deciding to head upstairs again, hoping to find him, she heard his hurried footsteps in the hallway, and when he saw her on the stairs, he seemed relieved.

“Rey!”

“Hi Armitage!” She walked up the final steps and gave him a sweet kiss to his cheek.

He seemed delighted she was there.

“I was in the library,” he told her. “Won’t you join me?”

She nodded and followed him down the hallway. At the end of it, they entered the room, and she was quite impressed by the dozens of dark oak bookcases, each and every one filled to the brim. It seemed like most of the books were leather-bound, ancient tomes. She couldn’t spot any books that were modern.

When he indicated a sofa in front of the lit fireplace, she quickly sat down, her eyes drawn by some of the large paintings of landscapes on the wall. She found it quite nice and warm in there. Of all the rooms she’d seen so far, this had to be one of her favorites.

“Do you like to read?” he asked her, putting some of the books that had been laying on a desk away.

She hesitated, then shook her head. “I don’t take much time to read,” she admitted honestly. “Though I did enjoy it as a child.”

“I enjoy non-fiction books,” Hux admitted. “Books about war and weapons and history.”

She could imagine how that was up his alley. That was what his family had been about.

“I was more into fairy tales,” she admitted.

“I don’t think you’ll find many of those here,” he said as he looked around, then sat next to her and put his hand on her leg. “But I wasn’t going to let you read any books anyways.”

She chuckled. “Then what did you have in mind?”

He rubbed his hand up and down her thigh.

“I thought you’d brought me something to unwrap?”

“If by something, you mean ‘me’, then yes,” she replied with a smile. “But I was thinking we could kill some time first?”

He narrowed his eyes, wondering what she had in mind.

“Would you like to join me on my bike?” Rey asked sweetly. “It’s a lovely morning, and I want to explore the area.”

He seemed a little taken aback, and she noticed how he averted his gaze from hers, once more turning his scar from her – even if he was still wearing the patch.

“I think it might relax you to know I brought an extra helmet,” Rey said. “They won’t even see it’s you.”

Hux looked at his clothes. The smooth fabrics of his pants would not keep him very warm, or safe in case of an accident.

“I don’t have clothes appropriate for it,” he admitted shyly.

Rey bit her lip. “Oh, right… Yeah that might not be great.”

She seemed a little disappointed that her plan had failed, and he noticed.

Suddenly, he got up from his seat and smiled.

“You know, there is a place in town where they sell motor gear. Opan never shuts up about it.”

Her eyes lit up.

“You bought something I would enjoy to see you wear,” he remarked. “Now let me return the favor.” He took a very deep breath. “How do I look?”

He was looking rich and fancy, as always, with his hair slick with hairgel, and she smiled.

“You look fabulous – though you might want to loosen it up a bit if we buy motor gear for you.”

“Noted,” he replied seriously, winking at her. “Is my patch okay?”

She nodded. “It’s perfect.”

He took another deep breath. “Alright, I’ll drive. And then maybe around noon, we can go for a ride.”

Delighted that he was going to indulge her like this, she linked her arm with his as they headed to the car, and she had seldom felt as giddy.

+++

Their trip taught Rey a few things.

One. Hux hadn’t driven his car since before the accident. He was a little insecure on the road, but was a very safe driver and she was never at any risk. Arkanis hardly had any traffic at all.

Two. Opan hadn’t been wrong to never shut up about the store. Rey had never seen anything quite like it, with all sorts of hardware for motors, as well as a large and fashionable section dedicated to protective motor wear. Hux bought one of the most expensive suits in there – black leather with red stripes on the sleeves. It was classy, and he also bought some casual denim jeans and a shirt for underneath. Rey enjoyed peeking into the changing booth as Hux tried on the different sizes, and he enjoyed how curious she was.

Three. Hux got quite annoyed whenever any of the shop assistants asked them if they needed help, and Rey assured the poor workers each time that she had it covered – noticing how he got a little on edge when people looked at him for too long. Each time they did, he turned his face away.

So when they arrived back at the mansion an hour later, Rey already felt like they had had quite the adventure – even though the day had hardly begun.

While Hux went to change into his new clothes, Rey waited on her bike. She had a black helmet for him, with a black view screen so he could hide his face easily from any strangers. When he finally appeared in the large garage, Rey had to try not to laugh.

He was walking rather awkwardly in his leather pants – and it was clear he’d never worn anything like it. His gelled back hair didn’t look bad in combination with the leather vest – though Rey simultaneously thought of the movie “Grease”, which only made her smile widen.

He had his gloves in hand, and frowned a little as he saw her big smile.

“You look fantastic,” Rey said before he could remark anything else. “Are you ready for an adventure?”

He took a deep breath and nodded, and as she offered him the helmet, he awkwardly put it on, before he also worked his way into his gloves.

Rey put on her helmet as well and waited for him to hop on the back of her bike before she turned it on. The engine hummed loudly, and she felt how he wrapped his hands around her waist. She made sure he’d stopped wiggling about before she took off.

They left the property rather slowly, but once they were on the forest roads of Arkanis, Hux only held her tighter, the further they traveled.

Rey didn’t complain. It was nice and warm that way, and she loved showing him this part of her life.

They left the town behind and drove to the next, and the next – never heading into the busy city centers, but always staying in the surrounding forests.

After half an hour, Rey noticed that there were some signs indicating a nearby waterfall. Deciding that it would be nice to check it out with Hux and to see how he was doing, she followed the signs until they reached a deserted piece of road.

The signs had looked rather old, and once she arrived, she realized why.

While she had expected a big waterfall, it was just a rock with a tiny stream falling from it, and a little bridge was built over the stream.

The bridge hadn’t even been necessary. Any adult could have easily jumped over the water as it ran underneath them.

Shutting down the engine and taking off her helmet, Hux quickly followed her lead.

There was no one around.

“Well… This waterfall is certainly a let-down,” Rey remarked, and Hux chuckled.

“I was wondering why you were bringing me here.”

“I was hoping to impress you.”

“You failed.”

“Fully aware of that.”

She looked over her shoulder to look him in the eye, and he was smiling at her.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Quite!” he admitted. “It’s rather nice, exhilarating too, not being the one driving or setting the speed.”

“You’re not cold?”

“No, surprisingly not as much as I’d thought I would be. The leather is warm and the sun is as well.”

“Well, and I’m catching most of the wind,” Rey remarked.

“That too.”

As Rey looked at the tiny waterfall, she said: “Usually the fun lies partly in driving, and partly in finding hidden gems all around the country. This place is not one of those gems.”

He chuckled.

“Maybe we should continue looking?” he suggested, and she was delighted that he seemed so happy to indulge her. She hoped he was getting some fun out of it himself.

With renewed spirits, they put on their helmets again, and not long after that, the journey continued.

+++

They only headed home once it was starting to go dark and they were getting hungry. By the time they arrived, Opan was back as well, and he was cooking dinner.

As Hux entered the kitchen with Rey – still dressed in leather – Opan’s eyes went wide. Of all the sights he’d expected, it wasn’t that one.

“Master! You went shopping?”

“Yes,” he replied happily. “And Rey took me out for a spin.”

“It was getting quite cold outside,” she remarked, rubbing her hands over one another. “Could we head to the fireplace for a while?”

“Of course!” Hux put his hand on the small of her back as he led her to the dining room, and they heard Opan say: “Dinner should be ready in fifteen minutes!”

They sat down in front of the fireplace, and Hux put his arms around Rey’s shoulders to help her warm up a little faster. They were still wearing their leather driving gear, too cold to take it off yet.

“Thank you for taking me out,” Hux said softly. “It was really relaxing to me.”

She smiled happily. “You don’t really seem to relax much when you’re here, do you?”

He shook his head. “No, most of my time is spent on work, or reading. While that does relax me physically, it doesn’t relax my brain. I’m always thinking or learning.”

“Sometimes clearing your mind does wonders for your capacity to learn,” Rey remarked, and he nodded.

“I know. I used to jog a little bit – though usually just on my own domain.”

Rey looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Why didn’t you go into the forest?”

He pulled up his nose. “Oh no, too dangerous. Especially to go alone. I live too big to do such a thing. You never know which crooks would rob me.”

“Fair enough,” she said, putting her hand on his leg, and he put his hand on top, not minding how close she was one bit.

“Do you want to stay the night?” he asked her softly, and for a moment she was surprised by the question.

“I… I’m not sure if that’s wise,” she replied slowly, and he quickly looked away from her.

“Oh, sure – sorry.”

“No, no, don’t apologize!” she said quickly. “I have to be at work early in the morning, and this place is a bit further from work than my own. I’d need to get up on time in order to make it on time. And I haven’t got spare clothes with me.”

“Ah…” He had no reason to take it as a personal insult then.

“I would love to though,” she admitted. “It’s been an exhausting day, and I’m not sure I want to drive home tonight.”

“If you want, Opan can also bring you to work in the morning. You can leave the Harley here. He could chauffeur you around.”

Rey frowned. “Then how would I get home in the evening?”

“Well, he could always pick you up in the evening and bring you here.”

His suggestion was sweet, Rey thought. “That’s a lot of work for poor Opan,” she remarked, rubbing her hand over his leg. “After dinner, I suggest we go to your room, have some fun – and I should probably go again after that.”

He looked at her a little sadly. “But I thought you enjoyed cuddling afterwards?”

Rey’s eyes lit up and she felt her heart beat a little faster. It seemed like he was beginning to enjoy the cuddling as well.

“I do,” she admitted. “Or…” She gulped. “Maybe after dinner, you can pack some of your things and join me in my home instead? We can drive there by bike, and tomorrow Opan can pick you up at my place in the morning?”

The idea of sleeping at her place was intriguing to him. He wondered where she lived – _how_ she lived.

“Deal,” he replied. “That would be great.”

She smiled warmly before she nestled herself comfortably against his chest. ‘Great’ was an understatement.


	12. Back to Basics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux travels with Rey to her small apartment.

After dinner and the drive back to the city, Hux was a little tense to be in such big crowds again. He’d avoided going there after his accident.

On a few, rare occasions, he’d gone to the head office of the First Order, and he’d also gone to the hospital a few times. But he hadn’t been there for any personal business in a while, and was glad to hide his face behind the helmet as they drove around town.

It completely eliminated the sense of embarrassment he usually felt when he was out in the open.

To his surprise, it seemed like Rey didn’t live in the center of town, but a little bit on the outskirts, close to the harbor. It wasn’t necessarily a ‘dodgy’ part of the city, but it wasn’t elite either.

Underneath her flat, there was a large parking area. Some cars stood against one wall, but it seemed like Rey had a garage box all to herself.

“I would never leave my Harley to stand among the other cars,” she explained as she got off the bike to open the garage gate. It made a terrible screeching noise as she opened it, and Hux winced. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t survive a week.”

Hux got off as well and rolled the Harley into the small garage box for her.

So far, there wasn’t a great deal of personality in the space he saw. There was some equipment for tending to motorcycles in one corner, and a few empty boxes in another, but other than that the garage seemed empty. There was a little table where Rey put her helmet, and Hux offered his as well, and she put it by its side.

She lifted the seat of her bike so he could take his little bag of belongings for the sleep-over, and when she closed the garage box again, she made certain to lock her gate before she led him to a door, behind which they found an elevator.

Rey lived on the third floor, and as they stood inside the tiny elevator, Hux felt a little anxious.

In his opinion, everything looked rather poor. As they stepped out of the elevator, the hallway was gray, with another door opposite Rey’s that looked just as colorless and bleak.

Rey would not describe herself as ‘poor’. In her opinion, she’d done quite well for herself, and she proudly opened the door to her apartment, turning on the light so he could see her place for himself.

In fairness, he found her apartment to be neater and more colorful than anything else he’d seen so far, and left his little bag in the small hallway.

After she’d closed the door behind him, she went inside her living room and turned on some lights, and as Hux followed her, he noticed it were Christmas lights. She’d hung them against the wall, under which she’d hung half a dozen Christmas cards.

“The wall is rather empty,” she apologized as she saw him looking at it. “I’ve only gotten six cards so far, but I’m certain there will be more to follow! By the time it’s Christmas, it will be a lot cozier.”

She also lit the tiniest Christmas tree Hux had ever seen. It stood on the corner of her desk and though it was small, there were plenty of other tiny things that made the mood in the room quite pleasant, like some candles and holly on her coffee table, and a porcelain Santa that stood in the middle of her tiny dining table by the wall.

On her windows, there were Christmas stickers of snowmen, and while part of him found them quite kitsch, he found them cute at the same time. Her view wasn’t spectacular, as there were mostly bleak apartments on the other side of the street.

While her furniture wasn’t new, nor antique, at least it looked clean. Her couch was a pretty color of green, and as she indicated he could take a seat, he awkwardly did so, sitting on the very edge of it with his hands folded together on his knees.

For a brief moment, Rey picked up on the fact that he wasn’t comfortable, and she wondered if something was wrong with her place.

“Are you cold?” she wondered, turning up the heating. It had been off the entire day, maybe that was part of what was bothering him.

“No, I’m fine,” he replied, not looking entirely fine.

“Can I get you something to drink? Water, orange juice, wine?”

“Wine sounds lovely, but I need to pass. I still can’t have any with the medication I’m taking.”

“Right!” She’d forgotten for a moment and went into her fridge, which was in the same room as her couch. In one corner, there was a tiny kitchen and his eyes were on her as she stood there, surrounded by her cabinets. “Water, then?”

He nodded and waited for her to return with two glasses.

As she handed one to him and he took it from her hands, she noticed he was trembling a little.

“You’re having a rough hour, aren’t you?” she asked softly, and he looked at her with wide and terrified eyes.

She smiled reassuringly.

“You can tell me,” she assured him. “What’s got you so anxious?”

He gulped and took a deep breath. “I haven’t been out in the city in months. I haven’t been to any new places in over a year. Somehow it feels… scary. Part of me wants to run and hide”

Rey couldn’t imagine how her cozy flat could seem scary to him, and she proposed: “Shall we head to bed? You can hide there for as long as you like. I can make it very un-scary.”

His lips curled up into a smile. “Is that some sort of sexual pun?”

She laughed. “Honestly? No. Come, let me show you!”

She took his hand as she led him through the hallway again, and at the end of it was the door to her bedroom. It was tiny, with the two-person bed pushed against the wall so she had some room for her closet on the other wall.

But there was something inviting about her bed – she’d put a thin, circular canopy underneath the ceiling. Its fabric was transparent gray, and it seemed she’d attached some lights to it. As she turned them on, it almost seemed fairy-like how it surrounded the bed, and she made sure to turn off the big light so he could see how peaceful it looked.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she said invitingly.

Smiling, he took off his shoes and started undressing, asking: “Can I take a shower first?”

“Sure. Bathroom’s next door!”

He was glad she wasn’t following him as he headed into her bathroom, which seemed smaller than the smallest room in his own house. He had toilets that were bigger than her bathroom – and tried to put out of his mind how old everything seemed.

He wasn’t certain why he even cared. Rey was just a fuckbuddy. She wasn’t his girlfriend. He had no obligation to her whatsoever. Surely he could fuck her, sleep, and go home in the morning?

But then why was he feeling so bad? And it seemed like he wasn’t even feeling bad for himself. He could go and leave – he knew this perfectly well. It seemed like he was feeling bad for _her_ instead. She lived in a shitty place, didn’t have anything that was worth anything, except for her bike perhaps, which still wasn’t worth much due to its age, but she treated him like an equal.

After he’d taken a very brief shower, he helped himself to one of her towels – noticing how none of them matched and how they seemed quite cheap – before he rushed into the hallway – still butt-naked – and took his bag from the spot by the door where he’d left it.

Heading back into the bathroom, he quickly put on a clean pair of trunks before he put his stuff neatly together, not sure where to put it. There wasn’t even room for him to put his clothes, and so he figured that he could take them with him to the bedroom. Maybe he could leave them on the floor there.

Stepping back into the bedroom, he noticed Rey was nowhere around there, so he put his clothes at the foot of the bed, on the floor, and quickly grabbed a few condoms. As he opened the canopy, he saw she had a few nice pillows – not as many as he did – but at least they matched the gray of the canopy. He hid the condoms beneath them and lay down underneath the blankets. The room was quite cold.

“I’ll take a little shower too!” Rey shouted from the hallway, and he gulped.

“Okay!”

He didn’t feel like he was waiting very long before she entered the room again, and his eyes widened as he saw what she was wearing.

As he’d requested, she was wearing some lingerie, and his discomfort disappeared like snow in the sun. He was delighted.

The black stockings looked very sexy underneath the corset, and while most of it seemed to be made of silk, there were leather accents to it that looked quite _her_ , if he was honest. Her hair was messy, and she looked tough, and he loved it.

She seemed eager to show him her outfit as she opened the canopy so he could see her better, and she smiled mysteriously at him.

How she looked so stunning, he did not know, but he did know he was growing harder for her already with one look.

“Like what you see?” she asked him, and he could not hide his smile as he nodded at her.

“Very much,” he admitted. “It will please me to unwrap you.”

“No rush,” she teased him. “I don’t intend to wear it for just a minute.”

As she crawled onto the bed and closed the canopy around them again, he wondered if he’d ever seen a woman more beautiful. Or maybe it were just the lights around her, but her skin was as soft as the silk in her corset and it didn’t take him long to bestow her neck and bosom with kisses.

His hands traveled over the fabric of her corset and he delighted at the sound of her small sighs and hums of pleasure.

Respecting her request, he didn’t unwrap her just yet, instead taking plenty of time to tease her through the fabric of her panties, and she returned the favor.

Twenty minutes later, he was dripping wet in his trunks, and she was lying beneath him, aching for him.

“I want you,” she whispered.

As he sat up on his knees, he lifted one of the pillows so he could take the condom he’d left there, but he got distracted by Rey’s hand as she gently brought it into his pants and revealed him to her.

She looked quite pleased with herself, and so he was stunned for a moment as she repositioned herself lower on the bed, so she could lick him, and he shuddered at the sensation.

For a moment, not a single thought went through him, there was just the experience of her licking him clean, and then taking him fully into her mouth.

Gasping, he closed his eyes as she began to suck him in a steady rhythm, and he wondered why he wasn’t stopping her.

He’d stopped all the other women that had tried – but not this time. Not immediately, at least. She was too good, too sexy, and as he opened his eyes again to look at her, he could see how eagerly she looked up at him, always aiming to please.

“Rey,” he sighed, gently placing his hand underneath her chin, and she released him again, licking her lips teasingly as she looked up at him. “You’re bloody amazing,” he complimented her, and she chuckled, very proud of that compliment.

He finally put on the condom, while Rey sat opposite him, watching patiently for him to be done with it. When he was, she slowly stripped out of her panties, though the stockings and corset were still on as she straddled him and slid onto him.

They looked into one another’s eyes as she lowered herself onto him, and he moaned in approval at the sensation. She was always delightfully warm and wet for him, and as she rocked herself against him, he could only enjoy it.

Sex with her was never disappointing, and as he put his hands on her hips, he enjoyed the sight of her in the corset.

He enjoyed seeing her naked, but this was just as sexy, and he allowed her to ride him until her first waves of pleasure hit. Then, he thrusted into her a few more times, causing her to moan loudly at the unexpected sensation.

She relaxed fully in his arms, holding onto his neck as she rested her forehead against his chin.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” she whispered, and he smiled.

“Not as hot as you are.”

“You feel so good,” she continued, her voice a little whiny as she felt guilty for coming so fast.

“Your pleasure and wetness are the best compliments a man could wish for,” he whispered in her ear, before he laid her down beneath him, read to help himself to his release as well.

Once she’d come down from her own high, she wasn’t a passive participant to their love-making, but she actively rocked her hips against his, the rhythm and angle with which she did so enough to send him to his release much faster than he’d anticipated.

He grunted as he came, and she was delighted to watch him. As he shuddered in the afterglow, he saw how curiously she’d been staring at him, and he felt a little self-conscious.

“I love watching you come,” she admitted sheepishly, and he smiled gently.

“Same.”

As he pulled out of her, they both shuddered for a moment and he let himself drop on the mattress by her side, his arm already lifting for the next moment that followed, where she looked for his embrace as she put her head against the side of his chest.

His fingers stroked the fabric of her corset, finding it very soothing.

“You’re fantastic,” he whispered softly, staring at the canopy lights and feeling quite at peace.

“As are you,” Rey replied, hiding her face against his chest.

If she was being honest, she liked him much more than she’d ever intended to like ‘just a fuckbuddy’. There were nerves in her belly as she lay by his side – nerves that were only there because she was starting to fear the moment he’d say he’d had enough – the moment he wanted to move on.

They were worlds apart, and if it wasn’t for what she gave him right now, they probably wouldn’t even be speaking anymore. At what point would he grow tired of sex with her? She couldn’t keep buying lingerie for him to admire – she wasn’t that rich.

And even if they were becoming friends as well, how was that supposed to work in the future, once he decided he was ready to settle down and picked some rich lady that probably would never care about him the same way she did?

She closed her eyes, exhausted by that train of thought. There was no point to worrying. She should try to enjoy the moment. Maybe it was all they’d get.


	13. An Unexpected Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux needs a plus one.

Christmas was fast approaching, and Hux surprised Rey with a very unexpected text message one evening after work.

‘Would you like to come to the Christmas party of the First Order this weekend? It’s from Saturday until Sunday.’

Rey was surprised for various reasons: she hadn’t expected him to mingle with people already. And she certainly hadn’t expected him to want to involve her in the rest of his life, least of all his work.

‘I wasn’t aware you would be going to a party. Did you forget?’

After all, he’d also invited her to come over that weekend, and she’d accepted. Maybe he was just asking her along because he felt guilty about canceling their plans if he didn’t. Maybe he was hoping she would say no? She didn’t really know.

‘No, I had genuinely not considered going, but they’re awarding me a prize! I really must go, it would harm my career if I did not. And I would look pathetic without a date, so… Please join me?’

He’d added a sad smiley at the end of it, and Rey rolled her eyes.

‘I wish to talk to you about this, just so I know what to expect before I agree. Can I call you?’

She’d hardly sent it, or the phone rang and she saw it was his number. Taking a deep breath, she smiled as she answered.

“Hi, Armitage!” she said cheerfully.

“Rey, please say yes,” he urged her, sounding rather nervous. “Every year they do this around Christmas, with all the management of the First Order, and no one goes alone unless they are pathetic _or_ our CEO. And I don’t want to show up there to take my award, without having a girl to go back to.”

When he put it like that, she could hardly say ‘no’. It was clear that he had no one else to turn to.

“Okay, okay, I’ll join you,” she quickly replied, a hint of amusement in her tone. “I’d agreed to come over on Saturdays anyway, so I hadn’t made any plans. Is it in the city?”

He hesitated. “It’s in Zurich.”

“Zurich?” she replied, utterly confused. “You’re having a Christmas party in Germany with the First Order?”

“Actually, Zurich is in Switzerland,” he corrected her, amused at her mistake. “It’s always in another European city. There’s a reception, usually a speech by our leader, Snoke, then an awards ceremony for some brilliant achievements, and though I was planning on skipping it initially, they’ve informed me this morning that I’m being awarded a prize. I really must go – also if I ever hope to become the next CEO of the First Order.”

Rey’s eyebrows raised. She hadn’t spoken to him about his work a lot, but she hadn’t realized that he still believed he could become CEO after his accident. Maybe that explained why he was still working there, even now.

“Our leader, Snoke, is getting older. We think he’ll hold office for about five more years tops, and he has always trusted me with very secret projects and such, so I really think I stand a chance. But not going to the party would send the wrong message. They’d believe the accident has changed me, and I want to show them that I’m still the same – and more than capable to take my responsibility.”

Rey smiled at how self-assured he sounded. “That’s the spirit!”

“I fear I have let myself down the past months,” he admitted in a softer tone, mulling it over.

“What do you mean?” she asked kindly.

“I haven’t been the best employee. While I’ve done a fair share of development from home, I’ve left my duties at the main office in the hands of my colleagues. I felt held back – like I couldn’t show my face at work anymore. I need to get over this ridiculous fear of being seen and just go out there and work. After all, Snoke has never let it stop him how he looked, and I think he looks far worse than I do.”

It was a big step for him to talk this way, and it seemed he was regaining his old confidence faster than she’d anticipated.

“I would love to join you,” she said happily, deciding to lift the suspense. “What do I need to wear?”

“Formal wear. _Very_ formal wear,” Hux replied, his tone strict. “I understand if you don’t have anything in your closet. Shall I send Opan to go shopping with you? It’s at my expense. He’ll know where to go and what to buy.”

She wasn’t certain why, but she felt disappointed that she’d be going with Opan instead of him.

“Won’t you come with me instead?” she tried. “I’d love to hear more about what’s expected of me.”

“I’ll have plenty of time to brief you aboard our flight,” he assured her. “Besides, I have a busy week. I’ve got a few more doctor’s appointments and a lot of work to do.”

She was silent. She wanted to see him, but she could not voice that sentiment.

“It will be weekend before you know it,” he suddenly said, and to that, she smiled.

“I can’t wait,” she said gently. “I’ve got tomorrow morning off – but I have to head to work around noon – do you think Opan could pick me up at about nine in the morning for some shopping?”

“I’ll let him know.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and it seemed like neither of them wanted to end the call just yet.

“Will the flight be with your colleagues?” Rey wondered.

“Some might be on the plane,” he replied. “But no worries, I’ll get us a first-class seat, and not all of them are leaving on Saturdays. Some will be there a little earlier to do some Christmas shopping and sightseeing.” He paused. “Would you like to do some Christmas shopping and sightseeing?”

“It’s not up to me to say,” she replied. “But I will gladly accompany you wherever you wish to go.”

“If you want to head into the city for some shopping…” he offered again. “I don’t need to – but if you want to…”

She hesitated.

“I don’t really have the money to do a lot of shopping…” she admitted. “Nor do I have any gifts to buy. It’s not like I have a family to celebrate Christmas with.”

It saddened her to admit it, and he recognized her tone.

“We could do some shopping for like an hour or so on Saturday, around the hotel. Not for family then, for ourselves.”

She realized he was trying to cheer her up, and she smiled sadly.

“Yeah, that would be lovely! But if you’d just want to go for a walk or sit in the hotel instead, I’d like that too.”

“I do enjoy the idea of spending some time in the hotel with you,” he admitted, his voice playful, and she chuckled.

“As do I,” she said happily.

He was silent for a moment, before he sighed: “You’re the best. I’ll keep you up to date.”

“Okay. Until soon, Armitage.”

“Bye, Rey.”

As she hung up the phone, she was so overwhelmed that she wasn’t certain what to feel. While she was happy he trusted her enough to ask her along, she was aware that she was beginning to cling to him in a way that she shouldn’t. They were just fuckbuddies, nothing more. And their class difference bothered her sometimes. She wanted nothing more than to go Christmas shopping with him, but she honestly didn’t have the money to go shopping – in Switzerland, of all places. It was renowned for being expensive. And she bet that the kind of shops he liked to enter were vastly different than the ones she’d walk into.

But no matter how many times she repeated to herself that they were just fuckbuddies, she knew it wasn’t the complete truth. Over the past weeks, it had changed. They were friends too – and she knew that her own feelings had only grown since that first day of meeting him. If they continued to evolve as they had, she was going to be heartbroken if he didn’t return some of her feelings soon.

Closing her eyes as she held her phone to her chest, she took a deep breath.

“Relax, Rey,” she told herself. “You just want to be friends with him, nothing more. Now’s not the time to imagine deeper feelings due to your fear of abandonment. He’s a good fuck, that’s all.”

But if that was the case, she wondered why she could still imagine his soft chuckles and sweet smiles so clearly, and why those memories warmed her heart the way they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Just finished An Explosive Affair! Last chapter is at the beta - you still have a few to go. ;-) You can see the number of upcoming chapters now...)


	14. Rainy Zurich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Hux travel to Zurich for the First Order party.

Rey felt like a new person as she and Hux arrived at the airport and he escorted her to the lounge where they would wait until their flight was ready to take off.

Opan had taken her shopping for much more than just some formalwear. She’d gotten a suitcase and every single item in there was new. She’d objected, of course, but Opan had explained that most of the people in the management of the First Order were nobles and other millionaires or descendants of some of the wealthiest people in the country. Only a few were self-made, and even they would judge Rey if she didn’t fit the mold. If they learned of Rey’s humble origins, it would reflect badly on Hux as well – as though he could not find anyone of a higher class – and that would be bad for his reputation.

Rey understood – she really did. But it had also hurt a bit.

The boutiques they had gone to, had been alerted by Opan that they would be coming, and clothes had been laid out for Rey to pick from. She felt like the clothes she was wearing, the new bag she’d gotten and everything in her suitcase was worth more than the entire contents of her apartment. It was ridiculous.

In the lounge, they were invited to have some champagne, but as Hux passed, so did Rey. When she looked into Hux’s eyes, she saw how blissfully happy he seemed that she was sitting opposite him.

The designer clothes she wore looked more business-like than the rock and casual style she usually wore, and he admired the jewelry Opan had bought with her. She was wearing beautiful golden earrings, and a golden necklace with a simple white gem at the end. Plain, yet expensive enough to draw his attention.

She seemed ill at ease though, and he could tell from her stiff posture and the way her hands lay in her lap.

“Are you alright, my dear?” he asked gently, and Rey’s eyes were large as she looked at him.

She wasn’t used to terms of endearment around him, and nodded nervously.

He smiled as he held out his hand to her, and as she took it, he squeezed hers tightly. She wasn’t alright, and he knew it.

She could tell from his kind gaze that he was worried.

“I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong and embarrass you in front of your colleagues,” she admitted.

Without hesitation, he shook his head. “You couldn’t. Just the fact you’re with me, looking as radiant as you do, will baffle many to the point of complete bewilderment. They won’t talk much to you, impressed by you, and by myself. As I told you before, I’m quite high up in the ranks. Not many people will engage us for small talk, and we’ll be able to just relax.”

“What’s with the ceremony?” Rey wondered. “Is it going to be dinner or dancing or just sitting and listening, like at the Oscars?”

He chuckled. He found it funny she compared it to that.

“There’s a reception first, we stand around, say hello to a few people, I might introduce you to some.”

“If they ask about my job, do I tell them I work for Jakku Mobile?”

He immediately shook his head. “Best not to talk about that unless you want them to ask for too many details. You can deflect such a question, saying you have your hands full with me or such a thing.”

She nodded quickly. “So to them, it’s better if they believe I don’t have a job?”

He nodded. “Many of the wealthiest people don’t have jobs.”

Rey frowned. The world sucked if that was the way it worked.

“Or you could tell them you’re in-between jobs, but enjoying your spare time first before you tackle your next adventure,” he continued. “Or that you’re looking to settle down or something like that.”

Rey’s eyes had only grown wider and she looked at Hux a little anxiously.

“Do you want them to believe I am willing to settle down with you?”

He turned crimson, but Rey figured he wasn’t aware of that, since he casually waved it away and said: “Sure, whatever works for you.”

As they were brought a bottle of water and two glasses, they looked out at the airplanes outside, and Hux decided to change the subject.

“You’ve never been to Switzerland?”

She shook her head.

“No, I’ve never even flown.”

He was surprised to hear it. “Really? Did you never go to mainland Europe?”

She smiled. “I have, with the Harley.”

“Eurotunnel?” he wondered.

“No, ferry. Also went to Ireland. Enjoyed the latter a bit more, if I’m honest.”

“Where did you go?”

“Paris. Traffic was hell there. Didn’t stay for as long as I had first intended. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone on my own. I didn’t really enjoy it a lot.”

As he looked at her, he noticed how she was not looking at him, but just at her glass.

“It’s tough traveling alone sometimes,” he acknowledged.

She sighed. “Yeah, I wasn’t enjoying it. I was quite miserable, if I’m honest. I was feeling lonely. And the fact that everyone spoke French around me didn’t help. At least in Ireland I could talk to the locals for a bit of conversation.”

He could understand that.

“It was brave of you to travel on your own, though,” he said gently. “Not many would have the courage for it.”

She shrugged.

Desperate to change the subject, she asked: “Do you travel a lot?”

“Mostly for work,” he replied. “Though I haven’t traveled at all since my accident. But I used to go abroad several times a year. Conferences, presentations, that sort of thing. And obviously the Christmas party with the First Order. It has taken us around many of the biggest cities in Europe.”

“Is the entire First Order going there?”

“No, just management and higher positions, so a couple of hundred people. Still a big group, and their partners.”

“Have they seen you with the…” She tapped her own cheek as she looked at his patch.

He shook his head. “Most of them haven’t. I’m glad that the doctors allow me to wear the patch for now. I don’t know I would have been brave enough to face them without.”

She put her hand on his and gently rubbed over his smaller scars there.

As he looked at the sweet way in which she touched him, his heart skipped a beat, and he was blushing slightly as he looked back at her. She was too kind – kinder than he’d ever known anyone to be – and if it wasn’t for their status or what they’d agreed upon after their first night together, he would woo her properly.

The term ‘fuckbuddy’ sounded foul when he saw her sitting there. She was so much more than that to him. But voicing that could mean losing her completely, and that was a sacrifice he wasn’t ready for.

+++

The flight to Zurich took about two hours, and Hux had given Rey his window seat, even if it meant more people would stare at his patch because of it. In first class, they were still rather isolated, and even if some people stared, he enjoyed the flight a lot.

Maybe that was due to the fact that during take-off, Rey had grabbed his hand, and she hadn’t let go since.

He was feeling queasy because of it.

He tried to blame it on the turbulence, but that would have been a lie.

Upon arrival in Zurich, they went through checkout as quickly as they could, but Rey was frowning.

“What’s wrong?” he wondered as they rolled their suitcases through the airport to take a cab outside.

“It’s raining!” she remarked, pointing at the windows. “In Zurich! It’s Switzerland, it’s December! I’d expected a decent layer of snow, not rain.”

He laughed.

“That’s global warming for you, I guess?”

She pouted, but she was quite happy when they were in the cab, driving towards the city center.

As in the plane, she was gazing outside. Hux missed holding her hand this time, and just stared at it as it lay between them. For a while, he considered just grabbing a hold of it, but before he was able to pluck up the courage, they had already arrived at the hotel. It looked modern and sleek on the outside, pure black brick, and was higher than most buildings around them.

After he checked in while Rey waited in the fancy lobby, he smiled mysteriously, and Rey raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you smiling like that?” she wondered as they stood in the elevator, headed to the highest floor.

“Opan booked the hotel room,” he said, finding it hard to suppress a smile, and Rey’s eyes lit up.

“No, don’t tell me…”

“Yes.”

Rey laughed, and Hux joined her.

“He’s horrible.”

“Yes. He is. But it’s almost sweet at the same time,” Hux said softly.

As they got out in the hallway, Hux saw there were only two doors on that particular floor, and he opened the first door and waited for her to get in.

“Oh… my… God…” Rey could not believe her eyes.

The room was bigger than her apartment, and there were rose petals on the bed and full bouquets of red flowers on the tables, as well as romantic lightning and a view of Zurich that was incredible.

Hux chuckled.

“You know, I should invite you along more often. Usually he just gets me an expensive business suite.”

“Is this like… like a honeymoon suite?” Rey wondered, checking the bathroom and seeing that it had a massive tub, fit for two.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Hux said, trying not to draw too much attention to it.

“We’re only here for a night,” she remarked, regret in her voice.

“I suppose he figured you didn’t want to see Zurich,” Hux replied as he started unpacking his things.

Her head popped out of the bathroom to look at him as he had begun unpacking.

“What? I do!” she replied, mildly offended.

He grinned. “You will. Let’s unpack and head out, we have a few more hours until we’re expected at the party.”

She smiled and nodded, and started unpacking her belongings as well.

+++

As they found themselves walking down the Zurich streets half an hour later, they were holding hands once more. Some streets were rather crowded, and this way they weren’t separated as they headed through the crowds.

Rey looked at Hux a few times, but he seemed to be doing fine with the crowd, even if he did get a few stares because of the patch on his cheek.

She enjoyed window-shopping and looking at the stores full of Swiss chocolate.

“Should we get some?” she wondered.

“You can get some if you want to,” he said, paying more attention to the people around him than to the chocolate.

“You’re not fond of Swiss chocolate?”

“Belgian is better,” he replied, apparently not into chocolate the way she was.

“Well, if ever you go to Belgium, take me along to try it out,” she teased him, and as she saw how warmly he smiled because of that, she wondered if he knew she was joking, or if he seriously considered it.

Indulging her, they headed into a store where she bought some chocolate. She carefully selected a rather small box from the store and headed to the counter. As she got out her own wallet (though it was a new one Opan had bought with her), he noticed she had some cash money in there. It wasn’t much – less than a hundred pounds, and nearly a fourth of it went to the chocolate she bought.

Part of him wondered why she wasn’t paying with her credit card – if she even had one – and if that was all she was able to spend while she was with him this weekend.

Not that they’d be spending much, but he felt like he didn’t fully understand how much money was at her disposal for things like this. She wanted to support herself in some ways, but couldn’t keep up with the way he spent money. She couldn’t buy the type of clothing that people liked wearing at First Order events and she hadn’t even had the proper accessories for it.

She was still getting used to her new belongings. The only thing that was hers, was a Harley Davidson pendant she’d hung on her wallet. He thought it was funny. It didn’t fully match the designer leather, but he wasn’t going to remark on it. It was all she’d taken along that was truly hers.

Out in the street, they bought a pretzel at a cart on one of the street corners. Hux usually wouldn’t, but Rey had insisted on trying one, and so he’d obliged as she’d eagerly stood in line while he stood a little further away from the crowd, looking at her as the rain returned. She paid for it all by herself again, and he felt some guilt at that. He decided that tomorrow, when they were home, he’d talk to her about the expenses. He wanted to understand it better.

By the time she ran to him with his pretzel, the downpour had picked up and she was very wet. 

They took shelter at a tram spot, and Rey really enjoyed the pretzel, eating it twice as fast as he did. The cold rain didn’t seem to bother her, and even if they didn’t look particularly elegant with their hair slick in their faces, he thought she was still beautiful.

“We should head back to the hotel,” he decided, noticing how the rain wasn’t stopping. “We can take a warm bath before we prepare for the party.”

“Together?” she asked sweetly, and he turned quite red in the face.

“Sure,” he replied as casually as he could.

She linked her arm with his free one as he finished eating the pretzel, and it wasn’t long before they took a cab back to their room.

+++

He was completely enamored with her as they shared a bath, with so many bubbles in the tub that he could hardly see her at all. After she’d washed her hair, she asked him to rinse the shampoo out, and he happily accepted.

It was a simple task, but one he surprisingly enjoyed very much. Her hair was rather thin, but beautiful, and when she asked him if she could return the favor, he was surprised.

“I mustn’t get the patch wet,” he said quickly.

“I know,” she replied. “That’s why I want to help you. If you turn around, I can easily rinse it off for you.”

He couldn’t refuse her anything, and turned his back to her as he washed his hair, then let her carefully rinse his hair clean of shampoo. She was so gentle with him that he hardly knew what to say or how to respond.

He wasn’t turned on necessarily, but he had the feeling like he really wanted to hug her – or kiss her – but he kept quiet for now. Once more he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what fuckbuddies did. Was this normal?

When Rey stepped out of the tub to dry herself off, he enjoyed looking at her – but it wasn’t in a sexual way as he’d expected it to be. He cared for her – loved seeing her in all her imperfections. It seemed to make her more perfect to him, not less.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he would love to return to a suite like this one with her – not for a party – but just to make love to her and celebrate her for everything that she was. He had never felt this way about anyone, and it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. He wasn’t certain how to voice that, if he should even voice it, and could only look at her as though he was a lost puppy.

When she noticed the way he was looking at her, almost wistful, she tilted her head.

“Are you okay, Armitage?” she asked sweetly.

He nodded. “Yes. Just glad you’re with me,” he admitted with a smile, and she smiled brightly in return.

“I’m happy you asked me to come along. Should we get ready for the event now?”

He nodded. “Yes, that would be a good idea.”

They shared the bathroom as they got dressed, and it was a new level of intimacy that Hux was a stranger to. But he enjoyed having her around, watching her blow dry her hair, brush her teeth and put on her make-up, up until the moment he had to change the patch on his cheek.

When he asked her to leave the room for a moment, she stubbornly protested.

“What? Why?”

“I want to change my patch,” he said briefly, motioning to the door, but she didn’t budge.

“No. If anything, let me help you.”

“You can’t help with this,” he insisted stubbornly. And it’s not a pretty sight. I don’t want you seeing the blood and pus that might have come from my wound.”

Rolling her eyes, she stubbornly made her way over to his side. She was only wearing her underwear at this point, not fully dressed yet, and even if she wore so little and was a head smaller than he was, he was very intimidated by her.

“Rey, please…” He looked at her with pleading eyes.

As she looked back at him, she saw he wasn’t ready yet, and she seemed disappointed. But even more so, she was understanding.

She leaned in to press a soft kiss to his good cheek.

“I’m ready to help out whenever you want me to,” she reminded him softly. “I want to. But you need to be ready, too.”

He nodded sadly, but was glad when she left the room and closed the door behind her.

He set to work to change the patch and clean the wound as thoroughly as he could.

After the doctor had cut into his scar tissue a bit, to even it out a little bit before more grafting was done, he’d had a few fresh wounds again, but they seemed to be healing in a way that was a little less disgusting than the first time. Hopefully it would improve the way his skin would look in the future, once he received his final graft and doctors became a thing of the past instead of the present.

When he was done, he headed into the main room again, noticing how Rey had already put on her dress for the evening, and she was checking herself out in the mirror.

The dress was fierce – sleeveless and black, and she had a killer figure in it, especially in the heels she wore. Hux was extremely pleased.

“What do you think?” she asked him with a big smile, and he walked closer to wrap his arms around her waist as he looked at her in the mirror.

“You look fabulous, my dear,” he said happily. “I can’t wait to show you off to my colleagues. Some will be jealous.”

She chuckled. “I’ve never been a trophy to someone before,” she said dryly. “But I’m quite excited about being one, if only for one night.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll get dressed as well so we can go to the party. No reason to keep you waiting!”

+++

It was still raining by the time they arrived at the venue – an old, fabulous museum which had a large auditorium in which the ceremony would be held. Upon their arrival, Rey realized most people were already there.

“If you’re important, you’re never the first person there,” Hux told Rey softly as they walked up the stairs to the entrance under his umbrella. “Being first is a certain way of showing your fear of being rejected by the group, by your boss… By being late, you show that you’re so important that they will wait for you.”

Rey frowned. “I doubt life works that way for those with less money than you have, Armitage.”

He shrugged. “Yes, I suppose so. Apologies. I did not mean to offend.”

“You didn’t,” she assured him, squeezing his arm. “I know you don’t know better. It can be a little infuriating, but for the moment I find it rather cute. Probably because you don’t say it to offend.”

He pressed a kiss to her cheek as they reached the door and they could see a large crowd of men and women behind it, most of them standing in little groups together as they drank champagne around exquisitely decorated tables. The room was massive, and Rey took a deep breath at exactly the same time Hux did.

“Ready?” he asked her.

She nodded bravely.

He smiled happily. “Then let’s do this.”


	15. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey meets Hux's colleagues - including Kylo Ren, Hux's nemesis.

As they entered, they first dropped off their coats and umbrella at the cloak room, and Rey noticed that a few people were staring at them. She tried not to look back, and instead linked her arm with Hux’s, who had put his hand on top of hers as he led her towards the crowd.

He nodded politely at some folks, until a man his age walked up to him. He had dark brown, short hair, and looked a little nervous.

“Sir, so good to see you!”

“Mitaka.” Hux extended his hand and the other man shook it. “Good to see you too. Allow me to introduce my companion Rey to you.”

Rey smiled warmly as she shook hands with the other man. He had a lovely smile and seemed like a darling to her.

“Mitaka is filling in for me,” Hux explained to Rey. “I haven’t been to the office in ages, so most of my managing tasks now fall on his shoulders. I’ve been mostly busy with development.”

The man nodded. “Yes, Hux’s absence is felt greatly in our department. Luckily his work in development is still aiding us immensely.”

A waiter passed by and offered them the choice between champagne and orange juice, and they both took a glass of orange juice. Mitaka went for the champagne.

“Did you come alone?” Hux wondered.

“Yes, sir,” he replied with a gentle smile. “I’m afraid I could not find a date.”

Hux figured that Mitaka had been as shy with women as ever. The man still lived with his mother and had never been particularly eloquent when talking about anything but work.

“Armitage!”

Hux turned around as he heard a familiar woman’s voice, and was just in time to see Phasma, in a billowing silver dress and her short, blonde hair sleek with hair gel, throw her hands around him to embrace him fiercely.

His arms were rather stiffly by his side as he let her hug him, and when she was done, she put both of her hands on his cheeks – or rather, one of them on his patch as she looked him in the face.

“It has been too long, Armitage!” she said in a mildly dramatic tone, and he put his hand around her wrist so she would stop touching his patch. Realizing what he was doing, she quickly let go of him. “Oh, terribly sorry – did that hurt?”

He didn’t seem particularly amused. “Not at all. I have no nerves there. But there is a rather recent wound underneath I’d rather not have you disturb in your carelessness.”

They frowned at one another, both not pleased with how the other behaved.

“It is good to see you,” he said – but it seemed to be more out of politeness than genuine emotion.

“Likewise,” she replied – as though with the same sentiment. “I had not expected you to come.”

“I had not expected to go at first, but I’m doing a lot better than before,” he said, his tone clipped.

Phasma’s gaze had left him before he’d replied, and she was looking at Rey instead, curiosity etched on her face.

Extending her hand to Rey, she said: “And who might you be?”

“Rey,” she replied as she took the woman’s hand. “And you are?”

“Phasma. Pleasure to meet you!”

Phasma’s gaze shifted to Armitage, expecting an explanation of some sort.

Armitage ignored her as he looked at Rey instead, smiling softly.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Rey replied warmly, though Hux figured this had to be her customer-service voice. That wasn’t really her, but he doubted anyone would be able to tell what was really her if she kept it up all evening. “I love your dress.”

“Likewise!” Phasma smiled politely before she tilted her head and asked: “So what do you do?”

Rey linked her arm with Hux’s and looked at him with a bright smile as she said: “In between jobs, enjoying life at the moment. Taking some personal time off to reflect and find a new challenge.”

Hux could not be happier with her answer. It was just right.

Phasma was still curious, though. “How did you meet Hux?”

“At the hospital,” she replied without missing a beat. “A friend wanted to get some surgery done – nose job – and while I was waiting for her, I met this gentleman.”

Hux’s heart skipped several beats. She was _good_. This was a more convincing lie than he could have come up with. It gave the illusion that she had friends in rich places.

“She gave me back some of the confidence I’d lost,” Hux added, smiling at Phasma. It wasn’t even a lie.

“Glad to hear it,” Phasma said. “Will you return to the office soon?”

Hux nodded. “I hope so – though there’s still some surgery to be had. But hopefully only a matter of months now.”

The crowd was beginning to move, and it seemed like everyone was being led to the auditorium.

“You’re sitting at the front,” Rey heard Phasma say to Hux. “For the award and such.”

Hux just nodded, but Rey noticed how he walked a little straighter, his chin raised ridiculously high as he led her into the auditorium. He was obviously gloating as they made their way to the front of the large room, and Rey noticed how several eyes were on them.

Arriving at the table, Hux froze a little, and Rey noticed why when a man, just as tall but almost twice as wide, with longer, dark hair rose from his seat and extended his hand to him.

“Armitage,” he said, not particularly in a warm tone. “Nice to have you join us tonight.”

“Kylo,” Hux acknowledged, unable to find much more to say. It was clear he was not pleased they would be sharing a table.

Looking for name tags, he saw that he luckily didn’t have to sit beside his most disliked colleague. Unfortunately, Rey did, apparently now forced to be the shield that would keep them out of each other’s hair for the rest of the evening.

Though she’d sensed Hux tense up, she honestly didn’t know why, and politely shook the man’s hand.

“So you’re Rey,” he said, and for a moment her eyes widened.

How did he know who she was?

Noticing her confusion, he smiled and nodded towards the table. “It’s on the name tag.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, before the man suddenly pulled her chair back so she could sit down with his aid.

For some reason, she felt tense at the gesture. That wasn’t his thing to do – that was Hux’s, but he hadn’t stood as close to the chair, and so now she had no choice but to have the stranger slide the chair underneath her as she sat down.

As Hux sat down by her side, she looked at him and put her hand on his as it rested on the table, and that was a small gesture he did appreciate.

Kylo was still looking at her, Hux noticed, but she only had eyes for him, and he smiled warmly.

Leaning a little closer to her, he told her about the locations of the previous Christmas events, so quietly that Kylo Ren couldn’t hear, and he eventually shifted his attention to his own partner, a blonde woman who seemed to be sniffing – not due to any sadness – but apparently due to a horrible cold.

When she sneezed, it was so loudly that it startled both Hux and Rey.

“Bless you,” Rey said warmly, and the blonde girl had her hand in front of her nose as she went through her purse with her free hand.

“Terribly sorry, do you have a tissue?” she asked, dodging their gaze.

Rey immediately opened her purse, but due to how narrow it was, she couldn’t grab the tissues straight away. Quickly, she put her phone, wallet and keys on the table as she took a paper napkin for the girl, unaware how the stranger by her side was studying everything she’d laid out on the table.

After the girl had accepted the tissue, Kylo Ren immediately asked: “So you have a Harley?”

Hux gritted his teeth. Of course he’d seen the little pendant. And no doubt that Rey would love to talk about it.

“Yes,” she replied politely.

Surprised, Kylo lifted his eyebrows, ignoring his own date.

“Really?” He seemed surprised. “I own five myself.”

Rey smiled politely, suppressing a grimace. She didn’t like the idea that someone could even afford five, never mind that she was talking to them now.

“What type do you have? A sportster?”

“Road King Classic,” she replied without missing a beat.

To Hux, it seemed like they were speaking another language altogether.

“From the 90s?” Kylo asked, apparently not as impressed by that.

She nodded. “Fixed it up myself. Hobby of mine,” she admitted.

Hux wished she wouldn’t. The more she revealed, the more interested Kylo Ren became.

“I’ve got a Milwaukee-Eight since this summer,” he revealed. “If you want, we could go for a ride one day.”

Rey smiled warmly and put her hand on Hux’s leg, turning to him.

“What do you think, darling?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. “Shall we invite Kylo over for a ride after the New Year?”

His chest tightened, but then triumphantly roared as he tried not to smile too widely.

“If you desire so,” he replied, very pleased with how this conversation had turned out, especially when he looked at Kylo and noticed the mild look of horror in his eyes.

Lifting Rey’s hand to his mouth, he pressed a brief kiss to it, and she tried not to laugh in amusement.

Turning to Kylo and his partner, Hux said: “Feel free to bring… I’m sorry – what’s your name?”

“Kaydel,” the blonde woman replied.

“Feel free to bring Kaydel along,” Hux offered.

But neither Kaydel nor Kylo seemed excited by that.

“How did you meet?” Hux wondered, noticing the unease between the two.

“I work for his mother,” Kaydel explained, and Kylo turned red in the face. It appeared he hadn’t wanted anyone to know that.

Hux triumphantly leaned back in his chair a bit, his arm resting around the back of Rey’s chair.

“Interesting!” he said with a wide smile, but he didn’t get to ask for more info, for next up, Phasma took the stage, welcoming everyone in the auditorium as the lights dimmed and folks were given drinks by the numerous waiters around.

They showed a movie about the accomplishments of the First Order– showing new factories and technologies they’d developed since earlier that year. If Rey hadn’t fully understood how vast the First Order was, she did now. It also explained Kylo’s accent. He obviously was an American.

After the video, Phasma explained that their leader, Snoke, had not made it to the party, but he had left them all a message. As a video of him was projected on the large screen, Rey tried not to frown too much.

Not only were Snoke’s scars of the type that was terrifying, his eyes were bloodshot and cold, and he seemed like a supervillain of sorts, not like an actual human being. When she listened to the content of his speech, he seemed to combine praise with condemnation. For each thing the First Order had done right, another thing had been done wrong, and he wasn’t letting anyone off the hook. If this party was a celebration, it certainly didn’t feel like one.

When the speech was done, everyone applauded very loudly, and Rey found her hands clapping along, but her eyes gazing around the table. When her eyes met Kaydel’s, she saw that the girl wasn’t clapping in a very convinced way either, but Kylo clapped so loud it almost hurt Rey’s ears, and Hux seemed determined to clap longer than anyone else.

After that, there was a brief break where they all got some appetizers, and then it was time for the awards. Phasma continued to host on the stage as she honored two employees that had been in the First Order for over 40 years – and shone a light on their accomplishments in management.

One of the HR employees was rewarded for her improvements to the payroll system, which had resulted in more efficiency in their weapon factories – though from the way Rey interpreted it, the payroll system had only gotten stricter for the poor employees, and it didn’t seem to have become more humane. Once more, she glanced at Kaydel, who glanced back, and though she didn’t know who the girl was exactly, it seemed like she was as anti-capitalist as she was. Maybe she wasn’t the only one pretending to be a class she really wasn’t.

As Rey had turned her head slightly, Kylo was looking at her, and Rey quickly turned her head away again.

When Phasma announced that the next award would go to someone who had ‘suffered tragedy due to an unfortunate work-related accent, but found light and meaning in his work for the First order’, Rey looked at Hux carefully. He seemed to be happy with that description, and was smiling widely before he ran up the stage to accept his award, a simple golden mold of the number “1”, like all the others had received as well.

There was a polite applause in the audience, as there had been with the rest. No speeches were given, though Phasma did ask him when he’d return to the company for all to hear.

“Hopefully I’ll be back at the office in a few months,” he replied politely.

Rey noticed how Kylo huffed at that, and she turned to look his way, realizing that he was smiling deviously.

With a frown, she waited for Hux to return to his seat, but when he smiled as he held the award and looked at her, that frown immediately melted away. She wanted to share in his happiness.

After he sat down by her side again, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, and he was delighted at this display of affection while people were still watching him.

The ceremony went on for a while, awarding a few other employees before Phasma announced that they had yet another message from their Supreme Leader Snoke. As his large face got projected on the screen again, everyone grew very quiet and curious. No one knew why there would be two announcements that evening.

Rey looked at Hux, who seemed genuinely confused. He had no idea what was coming.

“With the coming of the new year, I would also like to announce my retirement. I shall remain with you all for one more year, but in the year that follows, I’ll be focusing on training my successor.”

Hux paled.

“His dedication to the First Order has been nothing but commendable. Please, everyone, give a big round of applause…”

When Hux noticed Kylo Ren got up from his seat, he felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

“For your next Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren!”

As people clapped, so did Rey, but she saw that Hux did not. His shock was clear, and when Kylo Ren walked up the stairs, towards the microphone so he could address the crowd, Hux slid his chair back and got up to head out of the room, his fist still clenched around his own award.

Rey quickly grabbed her purse before she got up as well, sharing one last glance with Kaydel, who seemed confused by Hux’s abrupt leaving, but not judgmental because of it.

She had no idea why Hux was storming out of the auditorium the way he was, though she knew he had envisioned himself taking over from Snoke. He hadn’t seen it coming that Snoke was leaving already and had probably hoped he’d at least be informed before a public statement was made.

Once outside of the auditorium, she saw how Hux was rushing through the large hallway towards the exit of the building. She ran after him in her heels, hating how slow they made her.

“Armitage!” she called out empathetically, and before he reached the door, he froze. He did not turn her way, and when she caught up, she immediately put her hand on his shoulder, hoping it would comfort him.

But as she gazed into his eyes, she saw it would take a lot more than a pat on the shoulder for him to calm down about this. Tears were waiting to fall, and she’d never seen him as distraught.

“It’s over,” he said darkly, and for a moment Rey wondered if he was talking about the First Order, or about them. It terrified her to think that maybe it wasn’t work that he was talking about.

“Armitage,” she whispered softly, her gaze empathetic.

He cast his eyes down, looking exhausted.

“Let’s just go back to the hotel.”

She nodded. “Of course, my dear,” she replied sweetly. “Whatever you want.”


	16. Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux has a bit of a breakdown after learning Kylo Ren will be the next to lead the First Order.

Hux trembled as they sat in the cab on their way back to the hotel, and whenever Rey looked at him, she saw the way his lips wobbled and he tried to keep his emotions in check. The award he’d received was clenched into his fist so firmly that all color had drained from his hand.

In the elevator, he didn’t look at her, his posture stiff as he tried not to break down. He looked angry and emotional, and Rey didn’t dare to talk to him just yet.

Upon arrival in the hotel room, he managed to take off his jacket and shoes without making a single sound before he went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, and Rey’s heart ached.

She knew he was heartbroken and upset, and stood by the door for a while, wondering what to do to help him, when she suddenly heard glass break and a loud ‘thud’, followed by a frustrated cry of anger.

Before she’d considered if it was wise, she’d opened the door to the bathroom, and once inside she saw that Hux had smashed the mirror with his award, which was now lying on the floor.

Though the mirror had broken, it had not shattered. In the cracked reflection, she saw Hux was trembling and crying, the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes as he shook violently.

“Armitage,” she whispered as she stepped closer, tears in her own eyes as well.

He sobbed and wiped at his eyes, sharing a miserable gaze with her.

“I’m so sorry for what happened,” she said empathically, putting her hands on his upper arms and rubbing them in an attempt to sooth him.

He looked completely helpless as he stood before her, and when she opened her arms a little wider and beckoned for him to hug her, he did so immediately, resting his head against hers so she wouldn’t need to see his ugly tears.

Rey held him for a while as he shook against her, and whispered: “If you want to talk about it or lay in the bed or just take a bath or anything, let me know how to help you. I can talk about it if that’s what you want, or I can distract you.”

He whimpered a little miserably. “With sex?”

Rey gulped. That would be weird – making love to a crying man – but heck, yes, if that would help, she would.

“Anything you want, my dear.”

“I don’t want sex right now,” he sobbed, sounding miserable just for admitting that, and he shook even harder against her as she cradled his neck and gently rocked him where they stood.

“That’s okay,” she whispered soothingly. “We can lay on the bed if you like?”

Though he was still sniffing, he nodded and let go of her, moving toward the bedroom again, and Rey looked around the bathroom. They were going to have to let the reception know they’d broken the mirror – and as she looked at the award on the floor, she left it where it was. It would not remind Hux of anything happier at this moment.

As Hux lay down on the bed, he wept silently, shaking as he did so, and Rey stepped out of her shoes before she lay down behind him, covering as much of his back as she could while she wrapped him tightly in her arms. His hand looked for hers and he held it close to his chest as he cried, and while she personally had not been hurt or offended by anything that had happened that night, she couldn’t help but cry along.

She cared too much about him for her own good, and now it was moving her to tears.

She rocked him gently, feeling at moments how he cried harder, at others how he was whimpering and shaking, and she couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind that had him so upset. Whatever it was, she was certain it was more than just a bit of jealousy over someone who’d beaten him to a promotion. He’d proudly told her earlier that week that he wanted to prove his worth and that he had not been beaten by his accident – but maybe now he was beginning to doubt that as well. Maybe he blamed himself. Maybe he blamed others.

When the crying seemed less, she asked: “Shall I get you some water?”

His voice was small as he replied: “Yes, please.”

She gave him one small squeeze and kissed his back before she rolled out of bed and went into the mini-bar. Luckily there was some water there, and she poured him a glass before she sat in front of him this time and looked at him as he lay on the bed. Due to his tears, the patch didn’t seem to stick very well at the moment, and she gently caressed his hair as she looked at him.

She saw shame and sadness in his eyes, and looked at him with nothing but love.

“Sit up, Armitage,” she urged him, and he sniffed as he complied, avoiding her gaze.

He took the glass of water with trembling hands, and drank all of it in one go.

“A little more?”

He nodded and offered her the glass again, and she poured him another one.

“Do you want me to order in some food?” she asked as she stood before him. “Room service?”

He shook his head.

“I don’t think I can eat anything,” he said with a sad sigh, looking at his own hands in his lap, before he reminded himself that he wasn’t the only one with a stomach in the room, and he suddenly looked up at her and said: “But you can order something if you’re hungry.”

She shook her head.

“No, I’m quite alright. I might have eaten a few too many appetizers.” As she looked at him, she saw the way he slumped his shoulders. She’d never seen him look as depressed. “How are you holding up?”

Tears came to his eyes again, and he didn’t look at her as he admitted: “If you weren’t here I might have jumped out of the window already.”

Shocked and terribly worried, she sat down in front of him, putting her hands on his.

“Armitage,” she said sadly. “Talk to me about this. Don’t let it fester into a point where you think death is the answer.”

More tears ran down his face, and as he sniffed, she realized he looked a mess. She rushed to the bathroom again to get some tissues, and sat by his side again, immediately bringing her hands to his knees, just to make him feel she was near and listening to him.

He blew his nose rather inelegantly and muttered an apology, to which Rey smiled gently.

“I gave them my everything,” he sobbed. “All my hard work – all my ideas – my face.”

Rey gulped.

“I would have given them my entire life – Snoke knew this. Why didn’t he trust me anymore to tell me? Wasn’t it saying enough about my loyalty that even after my accident, I never stopped working for them?”

She rubbed his leg to calm him, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“And not just that – but he made Kylo Ren – the biggest asshole around – the one to take his place. Why not Phasma?” he cried out in frustration. “I would have preferred Phasma in charge!”

“So I take it you and Kylo Ren aren’t friends?” she asked softly.

Hux shook his head.

“Competitors. Violently so.”

“Violently?” she asked, frowning at that choice of words.

“He once threw me into a wall after a disagreement. But I got back at him.”

Rey raised an eyebrow, and Hux looked devious as he admitted: “I fucked his date for the Christmas party three years ago.”

Though it was a serious matter, Rey had to try not to laugh, and shook her head with a pained grimace on her face. “Seriously?” she asked, smiling. “You fucked one of his dates?”

Hux nodded, and returned the smile through his tears. There was a hint of pride in his eyes. “He’d deserved it. He was acting like a jerk to her.”

Rey rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You should have told me in advance, it felt to me like he was coming onto me.”

“Maybe he was,” Hux replied, sighing deeply. “Needless to say, I don’t want him as my boss. At all.”

Rey nodded. “I understand. To be honest, after your past and what you did and what he did, do you think he would still want you as his employee?”

He wasn’t certain. “I do good work. I’m hard to replace. But I doubt he’d allow me to rise higher through the ranks. My career is over.” Though he’d sounded quite calm saying it, the moment he said that last word, he started crying again, and as Rey crawled into his lap, he did not fight it and instead wrapped his arms around her.

“If he’s a bully, then get out of the First Order,” Rey said softly. “You don’t need to stay there.”

“But my father was in the First Order,” Hux protested – though his voice sounded weak. “It’s my legacy to…”

“So what,” Rey interrupted him. “You’re not your father. You’re your own person. You don’t need a family to forge your own path – to find your own place in this world. You can find a billion other jobs – and maybe your next job won’t have you blow up bombs in your own face.”

He chuckled at those last words.

It seemed like she was reaching him, despite his sorrow.

“You have no obligation to the First Order, do you? You’re so filthy stinking rich that you could remain unemployed for the rest of your life if it was necessary. So don’t cry about leaving them behind. The way I see it, that would be a good thing for you.”

Another sniff. “You think so?”

“I know so,” she replied in a firm tone. “To be honest, that entire ‘ceremony’ felt more like I was attending a cult gathering than a Christmas party. And I know you probably don’t care much about it – but making bombs, bragging about how many you sold this year? Sharing trends about which third-world countries are now buying more weapons compared to last quarter? How any of you can celebrate such a thing, I don’t know.”

His crying had stopped, and he looked at Rey as though he was seeing her for the first time. He was a little shocked.

She looked apologetic as she shook her head. “I really don’t understand how a man as kind as you can fool himself into believing that is a decent way to waste his talents – and his beautiful face.”

He sobbed again, closing his eyes before he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” he cried. “I’m so sorry.”

His quiet sobs were breaking her heart. Maybe she was being a little too hard on him, but she wasn’t done yet. She wouldn’t give up until he was feeling better too, and she just rubbed his back as she said: “You don’t need to apologize or feel sorry – it is what it is – but you can be so much better. I know it. You have so much talent and such dedication – it should be admired and respected – and it’s clear that the First Order did not. They didn’t deserve you. At all. You can and will find something new, and you can use that beautiful brain of yours for good – I know you can.”

As he looked at her, he tried to smile, though his lips wobbled emotionally.

“You really think so?”

“I know so!” she said happily, smiling at him. “There’s so much more to you than what you realize yourself. So much you have to offer!”

His patch was drenched by his tears and hardly covered his wound anymore, and she slowly brought her hand to it to take it off. He didn’t fight her as she took it off, and she looked at his scar carefully. She could see there was a fresh wound – but it seemed to be healing quite alright.

As he looked at her, not turning his scar away from her, not anymore, he whispered: “You really aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

She smiled at him. “No, Armitage. I’m not.”

“And I don’t disgust you?”

“You never have,” she assured him. “Stop telling yourself these lies. You’re still beautiful.”

He slowly rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to just breathe with her for a while, and she didn’t protest. They sat quietly together for minutes, and it seemed he was finally calming down.

“I don’t want you to jump down a building,” she whispered. “Not before you’ve reached your potential. And it’s big. So much bigger than the First Order will ever learn now.”

As he looked into her eyes, he smiled. He was beginning to believe her words.

“I’ll send them a resignation letter that will have them shit their pants,” he decided proudly, and Rey couldn’t help but laugh.

“That sounds more like it! I’d love to read it.”

He nodded immediately. “Of course. Thank you.”

He leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek, and as they looked into the other’s eyes – for a brief second, the First Order was forgotten. It was just the two of them, and this feeling that…

They looked away again. Whatever it was, it wasn’t the time or moment to pursue that feeling. Maybe another day.


	17. The Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Zurich trip comes to an end, and Hux has done some thinking...

Hux was in a haze the next day. He’d slept in Rey’s arms all night but had still felt exhausted the following morning and the entire flight home.

To his surprise, Rey hadn’t complained for a single second. He’d ruined her only trip to Zurich with his own meltdown, yet she’d been as sweet as ever and she’d looked after him at every turn. She’d bought him drinks, she’d gotten him a little snack to eat at the airport, and she hadn’t left his side for a single moment.

He couldn’t remember feeling as cared for, not even as a child.

Even as they took a cab back home to the mansion, she was sitting right next to him, her head against his shoulder as she held his hand, rubbing her thumb over his scars, and if he thought about it too long, he was certain he’d end up crying again.

She was far more than he deserved – but he was glad to have her nonetheless.

He’d suggested bringing her home first, but she’d insisted she’d go with him to the mansion instead, to make sure he was alright.

They hadn’t spoken much during their flight or the drive home, but as they arrived and were on their own again, Rey felt better about speaking up.

“How are you feeling?” she asked him as they carried their luggage indoors.

“Like I got hit by a truck last night,” he admitted, sounding exhausted still. “If you hadn’t been around, I’m not sure what I’d have done.”

As they put their suitcases by the side of the door, Rey softly asked: “Do you think you would have hurt yourself? Like you said yesterday? That you would have jumped out of a window?”

He could see how much the thought hurt her, and shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe. Luckily you were there. And if you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have gone either. So we’ll never really know what would have happened if you hadn’t been around.”

He walked closer to her and kissed her forehead. He could see, as he pulled away from her, how she’d closed her eyes that brief moment, and smiled sadly.

“Thank you for sticking around. Even if I didn’t really show you Zurich, nor did we really attend much of the party, and we also didn’t have sex.”

She smiled, not very upset by that.

“I wasn’t in the mood,” he apologized. “I eh…” He hesitated and scratched the back of his head. It was now or never. “I’ve been thinking.”

Rey tilted her head curiously and he had to remind himself not to get lost in her beautiful brown eyes. “About what?”

He opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it again. How was he going to tell her this?

Frowning, he avoided her gaze, for it was only distracting him. With his eyes squeezed shut for a brief moment, he blurted out: “I don’t want us to be fuckbuddies anymore.”

As he slowly opened his eyes again, he saw her expression of complete shock, and felt an anxious ball in the pit of his stomach. Had he fucked up?

She just couldn’t believe it. Her mouth dropped and she looked sadder than ever, her eyes teary from emotion.

“What?” Her voice was trembling.

Was this really happening?

She’d done everything she could have thought of to help him out – this weekend and before. And hadn’t he felt like they’d had good sex before? Was that why he was dumping her? She cared for him – and now he didn’t want her around anymore? Tears ran down her cheeks. She didn’t want to say goodbye to him. She wasn’t ready.

But if she was honest, she wasn’t even as worried for herself as she was worried for him. This seemed like the worst possible time to break off this strange relationship that they’d had. Was he going to be okay? Maybe he wanted to make some big changes in life, but she’d grown attached to him, so attached that she was now crying as she stood opposite him, feeling utterly miserable as she realized he was rejecting her, and that she hadn’t seen it coming. Part of her had hoped he’d grown as emotionally attached as she had, but she’d just been lying to herself. Why had she been so stupid to think this would last?

Upon seeing her emotional response, he frowned in utter confusion, and then it hit him.

“No, Rey!” He put his hands on her shoulders in an effort to have her look up at him, and when she did, he said: “You misunderstand me!”

Feeling rather awkward, but wanting her to understand, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, but she pushed him away before she had any time to enjoy it.

“Don’t mock me,” she warned him, still in tears, a mix between anger and misery etched on her face. “I care for you, I worry about you, and now you just want to send me home with a ‘thank you’ and a kiss?”

He frowned, upset that she still didn’t get it.

“No!” he argued passionately. “That’s not what I mean, you silly woman! I don’t want you as a fuckbuddy anymore, because I want you as my girlfriend!”

She blinked with a dumb expression on her face.

Once more, it felt like she was being hit with a hammer – but this one at least vanished all her anger.

“What?” she asked in a small voice, hardly able to believe it.

“I don’t want you as my fuckbuddy,” he repeated as he put his hand against her cheek. “You’re much too kind and caring and I feel so much more for you than I’ve ever felt for anyone else.” He gulped. “I know we’re not from the same class – and I’m bothered by it at times – but I just want you in my life. And I’m not going to complain about the sex, because it was pretty good, but it’s everything else that was so much better. I don’t want to do you dirty and call you a fuckbuddy when I want you in my life, to sleep by my side and hold my hand and so much more.”

Rey emotionally sucked in her bottom lip as she tried not to cry, and she nodded in agreement as he’d finished talking.

“I don’t want to be your fuckbuddy anymore either,” she admitted, feeling close to crying, but from happiness this time.

Relieved, he smiled happily at her, and slowly she smiled back at him, though she still looked a little emotionally distraught at the recent, unbearable thought of saying goodbye to him.

“May I kiss you now?” he asked, and at this she sniffed and nodded, tears falling down her cheeks.

As he cradled her head gently and leaned in to press his lips against hers, she swooned against him. His lips were amazing, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him for a long while until the door opened and they were a moment too slow to pull apart.

“Master! Miss Rey!” Opan sounded delighted at catching them mid-kiss. “Did you have a nice trip?”

As Rey and Hux looked at him, they saw how happy he was that he’d seen this. Even happier that they still had their arms all over one another.

“It was dreadful,” Hux said, his voice as serious as ever, even if his hands were still on Rey’s hips.

“The worst holiday ever,” Rey agreed, gently running her fingers through Hux’s hair.

“We’re ending our relationship,” Hux continued. “She’s no longer my fuckbuddy.”

Opan raised an eyebrow, though he was still smiling. Their body language told him enough.

“She’s to be my girlfriend from now on.” Hux turned to her. “I suppose we’re going to have to spend Christmas together then?”

She smiled at that. “I guess so. Dreadful.” She pulled a face. “I don’t have any family parties to attend.”

“Neither do I,” he agreed with a grin.

“Shall I prepare a grand feast for you then?” Opan suggested, delighted. “I haven’t made a good Christmas roast in years.”

“Yes,” Hux replied, but he suddenly sensed how Rey cleared her throat.

“No, Opan. You should take some time off. Go to your mom. You’ve spent so much of your time looking after Armitage since the accident.” She turned to Hux. “Hasn’t he?”

Hux nodded, realizing that she was right.

“Spend time with your family,” Rey continued with a smile. “And I’ll spend my time with Hux so you don’t have to.”

Opan smiled warmly, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

“I knew you were something special the moment you walked in, Miss Rey!”

She scrunched her nose.

“Thank you for bringing her to me, Opan,” Hux said softly as he caressed her cheek. “You knew just what I needed.”

Blushing, Rey dodged his gaze. He was looking too kindly at her. She wasn’t used to that – yet. If she was honest, she really wasn’t used to any praise in that way.

“Let me at least make some dinner for you now,” Opan suggested, starting towards the kitchen

Hux and Rey followed him, their hands linked.

“You must both be starving after your journey. So from what I just gathered, food in Zurich wasn’t the best?”

They chuckled.

“I was a bit too miserable to try it out,” Hux admitted.

“Oh?”

“I’m feeling a bit better now,” he continued, and he squeezed Rey’s hand.

“He’s going to be fine,” she promised Opan, still looking at Hux, and as his warm smile didn’t fade, she knew it to be true.

They were both going to be fine.


	18. Christmas Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Hux celebrate Christmas together and exchange gifts.

On Christmas evening, Hux arrived at Rey’s doorstep with a small suitcase and a giant smile.

His patch was off again, but he didn’t seem bothered by exposing his scar anymore, not taking his eyes off Rey as she opened the door, wearing reindeer ears and a cozy brown dress as she welcomed him in.

Hux had just said goodbye to Opan, who’d be gone until the New Year, and then he’d only return for a week or so before he’d leave on a long holiday, all at Hux’s expense. It was the least Hux could do for the man who’d stood by his side during many depressive episodes after he’d thought his life was ruined.

But his life wasn’t ruined. Even now that he’d sent in his resignation to the First Order, he realized that the world was full of possibilities, and he could take his time finding a cause that appealed to him.

For now, the only cause he needed was Rey. He kissed her passionately as they stood in her tiny hallway, and he broke their kiss when he realized she was smiling ridiculously wide.

“I missed you,” he offered as a way of explaining the sentiment.

“We saw each other less than two days ago!” she reminded him, but he just chuckled.

“I still missed you.”

She chuckled as she let him in so he could install his things in the bedroom, and when he emerged with a few presents to put underneath her Christmas tree, he was surprised to see a few presents underneath them as well.

“Are those for me?” he wondered, and Rey chuckled as she watched him.

“Of course! Who else would they be for, silly?”

He was terribly excited to be getting anything at all. Opan had usually gotten him something – often an expensive wine or whiskey or such – and he was genuinely curious as to what Rey would have come up with. He also hoped she would appreciate his gifts, and saw how she put some appetizers into the oven.

“What’s that?” he wondered, sitting down on the couch in order not to get in her way in her tiny kitchen.

“Cranberry brie bites!”

She walked over to him to sit by his side, setting the timer on her phone so she knew when to get them out of the oven, and when he put his arm around her shoulders, she leaned in and hugged him tight.

Sitting there so quietly, he realized that some Christmas music was on, but it wasn’t coming from the living room.

“Did you put music on in the bathroom?” he wondered.

“Yeah,” she replied. “It’s where I got my iPod speaker.”

He frowned. “IPod?” He looked at her with a frown. “Rey, no one has bought an iPod in over a decade.”

A little annoyed by his remark, she pulled her arms away from his waist to cross them stubbornly.

“Yeah, but some folks can’t afford to buy the newest hype whenever they feel like it. It works, so I still use it.”

Hux gulped. Maybe he’d spoken too soon. He realized from her tone that he’d pissed her off a bit.

“I… I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized. “I’m an idiot sometimes.”

She relaxed a little bit as she turned to look at him, seeing that he wasn’t mocking her at all – it was just once again proof of how different the world he came from was.

“No, you’re not,” she replied softly. “I guess this kind of world is alien to you, just like your world is alien to me. We can’t expect each other to know all the ins and outs.”

He nodded, fully in agreement with her.

“I do like the music,” he said softly. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

She shook her head slowly. “It’s alright. I guess it won’t be the first or the last time either.”

He agreed, then suddenly asked: “May I give you a Christmas present already?”

Surprised, she tilted her head. “We would open our presents in the morning, I thought?”

He nodded. “I know. But I feel like I need to give it now.”

He stood up to take a small box from the pile of presents and handed it to her.

“Opan sat me down to talk to me about it, a few evenings ago,” he admitted, sounding a little embarrassed. “I… I didn’t fully realize, but… You gave me so much during your visits – without ever asking anything in return. Like when you got the sushi, or when you bought the lingerie. I told you I would pay you back, but then I never did, because I kind of forgot. I never considered that not paying you back wasn’t fair on you. If it were the other way around, it would be, but Opan was quite strict with me.”

Rey frowned. She hadn’t opened the box yet, and had only listened.

“Hux, you did give me things in return. You took me to Zurich – I got an entire suitcase full of items from when Opan took me shopping for that trip – I never could have afforded that.”

“Yeah, and that’s why it isn’t fair that I’m asking you to invest any money in this relationship – or in my food, or into anything that you work very hard for.”

“But it’s my choice to give you these things,” Rey replied softly. “It also means that I care about you.”

Hux shook his head. “I don’t want you to show me you care by spending money on me. I want you to show me you care by just… hugging me – or kissing me – or holding my hand. That’s how I know you care. If you spend money on me, I might be hurting you – financially – because you can’t keep up with my lifestyle. And I don’t want to hurt you – in any way.”

Her eyes were a little teary at those words. What he said made sense, but she still dreaded what she’d find in the box.

As she undid the beautiful wrapping (no doubt another skill of Opan), she was holding a black, velvet box. She wondered for a moment if it was going to be jewelry, but when she opened it, she realized it wasn’t – at all.

It held a credit card. That was it. Nothing else.

“I know it’s not really a romantic gift or anything of the sort, that’s why I wanted to give it now. Opan calculated some costs – like the gas you spent for visiting me, and the sushi, and I figured the lingerie you’d bought for me also cost you a bit – and I put a thousand pounds on the card. For those expenses, but also for any you might have over the year. And if you feel like you need more, just let me know.”

Rey wasn’t certain if she could accept the gift. However rationalized he sounded, she was feeling weird about it.

“Is this a test?” she wondered softly, looking him in the eye, and he seemed confused. “Are you trying to see if it was all about the money and nothing else?” She remembered what Opan had told her when they’d first met – that if Hux had the idea she was doing it for money, he would not appreciate it.

She closed the box and handed it back to him.

“I can’t accept this,” she said softly. “It’s too much.”

He didn’t understand. He also didn’t understand why she was close to tears.

When the alarm on her phone went off, she immediately crawled up from the couch and headed to the oven, but Hux could see how she brought her hands to her eyes, probably to wipe her tears away, and he honestly had no idea why she was even crying.

He was still holding the box in his hands, and not entirely certain he wanted to give up just yet.

When she returned with a small plate of cranberry brie bites, she offered him one, once again smiling, but he could see the light didn’t fully reach her eyes. She was hurt, and he could not understand how his gift could have hurt her in any way. Wasn’t he being considerate?

“I would like you to take it,” he tried again. “If only for emergencies. You don’t have to spend it if you don’t want to, but I’d rather you have it.”

As she looked at him, she realized he honestly didn’t mean anything bad by offering it to her, but that didn’t make it easier to accept.

“I honestly can’t,” she replied, shaking her head.

Not fully understanding, he put the little box on her coffee table and took one of the brie bites, eating it slowly.

“This is very nice,” he hummed in approval. But the conversation was far from over. “Why can’t you accept it?”

“I don’t know,” she tried to dismiss his question, eating one of the appetizers so her mouth would be full and she wouldn’t need to reply.

Frustrated by his lack of understanding, he continued: “I just don’t want you to suffer!”

She gave him a forbidding look.

“I’m not suffering!”

“Oh, come on, you work in customer care!”

Her eyes seemed ablaze now.

“Which pays really well!” she argued.

“For listening to nothing but other people’s shit!”

“That’s deep, judging my job, coming from a guy who blew up his own face during his. Was it worth it in the end? Getting paid more than me? Sending in your resignation after your cult leader chose someone else to replace him?”

Now they were both equally offended.

Biting their tongue, they were trying not to say more things that they would regret, and they both took another brie bite from the plate at exactly the same time, stuffing their faces so they wouldn’t have to say more.

They didn’t look at one another for a moment, but Rey eventually took a deep breath.

“Look,” she tried not to raise her voice and spoke a little slower than usual. “My job offers me good colleagues, financial stability and all the independence that I could want out of life. It does not determine my value as a person. I think that’s why I’m offended by your gift. It feels like you’re trying to undermine my independence, while pitying something you should not be feeling pity for. I’m happy this way. You don’t need to take care of me.”

As she dared to glance at him, she saw he had tears in his eyes, and she was a little shocked. Had her words been that hard?

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, and he sniffed. “I don’t even know if that’s why I got you this. I don’t know if it’s because I want to take care of you. Maybe it’s my way of thanking you for taking care of me, instead of the other way around. I would hate for you to leave me because I was hurting you financially. I just don’t want to give you reason to feel like you’re wasting anything on me. Your money, or your time.”

His lip trembled and she could see he was trying not to cry, and all her anger and frustration was gone.

This idiot – her idiot – had just tried to make sure she wouldn’t leave him, and she’d gotten upset with him for it. She was a bit of an idiot too, it seemed.

Leaning into him, she kissed him, and when they broke their small kiss, he was fully sobbing, and trembling all over.

“I’m sorry too,” she said softly, stroking his hair as she kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding your intent. But you don’t need to buy me. I’m yours.”

He relaxed a bit at that, and looked at her with hopeful eyes.

“Really?”

She nodded and offered him a small smile.

“In heart, mind and spirit,” she admitted with a smile, and she saw him smile through his tears again. “Let’s not fight anymore. It’s Christmas.”

He nodded, feeling miserable. “I can’t believe I almost ruined Christmas.”

Rey chuckled. “I think I have to take equal blame. You were trying to be sweet. I’m sorry.”

They hugged for a long while, calming down in each other’s arms, whispering words of affection and forgiveness to one another.

It would certainly not be the first or last time they’d have an argument over wealth, but they also knew that their love and mutual respect could overcome any obstacle down their path.

+++

The evening was spent with more delicious snacks and food that Rey had prepared, and they watched a cheesy Christmas movie together before they headed to bed – a little emotionally drained from their earlier fight, but still as clingy as ever as they crawled underneath the sheets, just falling asleep in one another’s arms.

In the morning, Rey was awoken by kisses on her cheek, and she scrunched her nose as she turned to look at him.

“Morning,” he whispered sweetly when he saw he had her attention.

“M’nin.” She hardly opened her mouth as she rubbed her eyes, and he kissed her cheek again, causing her to smile.

“Merry Christmas,” he continued gently, and she leaned in to give him a short, sweet kiss on his lips.

“Merry Christmas,” she replied, still sounding a little tired. She was surprised that he was the one that was wide awake for once. Usually it was the other way around. “Are you so eager because you want to open your presents?”

He kissed her cheek again, before moving his lips down her jawline, towards her neck, and she hummed, but gently pushed him away.

“You’re all the present I want,” he purred, and she laughed.

“You can have me.”

As he leaned in to continue his kisses down her neck, she pushed him away again.

“As the main present – but first the others.”

She had a glimmer in her eyes that showed him how excited she was, and he smiled warmly. The promise of returning to bed later on was a nice one, and he agreed to go and open some presents with her.

As she made them some coffee, he lit the Christmas lights and looked at the presents. There seemed to be three underneath the tree, just for him, and he had two for her. Yesterday’s present hadn’t been very appreciated, and he hoped his next presents were more to her liking.

“I guess it’s best I go first,” Rey said with a cheeky smile, and Hux wondered why she was looking so devious.

As she gave him a rather flat present, a little larger than the palm of his hand, he realized it was paper. Perhaps a book?

Looking at her expression, he saw that she was smiling, but she warned him: “You might not like this.”

“Sure I will.”

“No, I’m serious. You probably won’t.”

Frowning, he started unwrapping the gift, but once he saw what it was, the frown did not leave his face.

In his hands, were dozens and dozens of pictures of Kylo Ren – many different ones, but most of them doubles. He looked at Rey as though she’d gone insane, but she just smiled and grabbed the next present from underneath the tiny tree, handing him a larger box.

He was terribly confused and did not dare to ask why she thought he’d wanted to see Kylo Ren’s face on Christmas Day, but decided to shut up about it.

Tearing the paper off of his present, he saw it was a simple wooden box. Opening the box, he saw a beautiful crossbow inside. It was also made of dark wood – rather small, and as he looked at the pictures, he suddenly realized why she had added those.

“Oooh!” He smiled widely. “ _Now_ I get it!”

She chuckled, and he pressed a warm kiss to her cheek.

“I love this! I’ve never had a crossbow!”

As he studied it in his hands, Rey noticed that he truly appreciated it. Glad that she’d been able to get him something that he liked, she waited for him to be done admiring the gift.

When he was, he carefully placed the crossbow back in the box, locking the pictures of his nemesis within as well.

As he took a tiny square box from underneath the tree, he handed it to her. It was very light, and Rey bit her lip.

“A ring?” she guessed.

Hux kept his lips sealed, and as she opened it, she gasped.

It wasn’t just any ring – not the kind of elegant one she’d bought with Opan. This ring looked badass – silver and black with very cool decorations on it.

“It’s a biker ring,” he told her, smiling as he realized she liked it.

“I love it!” she said, immediately putting it on. It fit perfectly too, and she kissed him gratefully.

If there was any gift he could have given her as a sign he did not want or need her to change, it was this one. She appreciated it immensely.

It was her turn to give him a gift again, and as he tore the paper off of another wooden box, made in the same way as the previous one, but a lot smaller, he wondered if it had to do with the crossbow. When he noticed that inside, there were a dozen golden arrows, he smiled.

“Thanks, I’ll need these if I am to wreck all those pictures you got me!”

“There’s more to these arrows than you might think.”

“Oh?” Intrigued, he turned towards her as she leaned back on the couch.

“Remember that award you got in Zurich? The one you threw at the mirror and then left on the bathroom floor?”

His eyes widened as he looked at the golden arrows.

“A friend of mine melted the gold and used it to cover the arrows. I thought the symbolism wouldn’t be lost on you.”

He threw his arms around her, hugging her so tightly that she couldn’t help but laugh.

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “This is the best. Thank you so much.”

Rey’s heart fluttered. He’d never told her before that he loved her – but she wasn’t certain if it was just because she’d gotten him a good gift – or if it was really about love?

While she was doubting whether to return his words, he’d already let go of her and turned to the Christmas tree, apparently not even very aware of what he’d just said – he certainly didn’t seem to be waiting for her response.

“And this is my final gift to you…”

She decided that it was best not to mull over his declaration of love and just enjoy the moment, and as she unwrapped this small gift, another box, she opened it to find two plane tickets inside. Reading them, she saw that they were for the 13th of February – to Paris – and then some more for the 15th of February, to return.

“I was hoping you’d go to Paris with me for Valentine’s Day?” he asked sweetly, and she smiled warmly, nodding eagerly.

“That would be fantastic!”

“It’s because, in Zurich, you told me you’d gone to Paris but you hadn’t liked it very much because you were alone. I hope that this time, you will. I certainly won’t leave you alone.”

She couldn’t believe he’d remembered that, and put her hands on his cheeks, even over his scar.

“Of course I will like it when you’re with me,” she sighed softly, her gaze full of affection as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

After their sweet kiss, she whispered: “I love you too.”

Delighted to hear that, he smiled wider than she’d ever seen him smile before, and she realized that he looked actually happy for a change. She hoped that it wouldn’t be the last, but the first of many adorable smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more final epilogue-chapter to go!!! Are you excited?


	19. New Year, New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later...

A year had come and gone since their first Christmas together – and it had been two years since Hux’s accident. But as the last hours of the year were ticking by, they were not at Rey’s apartment, nor at Hux’s mansion, but in a hotel in the city, celebrating with Hux’s new colleagues.

Among them, there was no need to wear the patch, especially after he’d had some new skin grafted upon the old scar tissue. As he’d feared, it didn’t look completely natural, but he didn’t look horrific either. It certainly didn’t seem like anyone was disgusted with him.

Rey was beaming in her red dress by Hux’s side as he donned a black tuxedo, admiring the new ring he’d given her the week before.

This time it wasn’t just any ring – it was an engagement ring, which he had offered on his knees, trembling all over as he’d popped the question on Christmas morning.

She’d said yes – obviously – though they hadn’t really set a date for the wedding yet. First, they’d move in together, and in February, Rey was fully going to move out of her apartment to live with him in the mansion. Then, if that went well, they’d start planning the big day, and who knew what else the feature held. Hux wanted a family, but he wasn’t in any rush, and she could take all the time she needed to warm up to the idea.

“Do you like it more than the party of the First Order I took you to?” Hux asked her as he saw her look around at the people.

“I like it much better,” she admitted. “The music is nice, people look normal, and so far I haven’t seen any evil overlord project his face on a giant screen. This seems like an actual job instead of a cult.”

He chuckled at that. While he’d been offended at first that she saw it that way, after starting his work at The Resistance a few months earlier, he realized that the type of work ethics they’d had at The First Order, were not particularly normal. It did seem like a cult now, and like a lifetime ago since he’d turned in his resignation.

He hadn’t seen anyone from his old job since then, until now.

As his expression changed, Rey noticed, and she followed his gaze to spot a familiar figure in the crowd.

“Mitaka?” Hux wondered to himself, taking Rey’s hand and pulling her along to the man who’d once filled in for him at The First Order.

He was sipping from a glass of champagne as Hux and Rey stopped by his side, and as the young man turned and saw them, his expression changed to one of delight.

“Hux!” He put both his hands on the man’s shoulders, looking at the scar for a moment before he looked at Rey and then back at his old boss.

Hux couldn’t help but smile. “Mitaka, it’s a surprise to see you here!”

“And you! What are you doing here?”

“I work for The Resistance,” Hux said simply. “What are you doing here?”

Mitaka grinned. “I’m a plus one!” He looked around the crowd, then waved at someone he spotted in the distance, beckoning her to come closer.

As Rey saw who it was, she frowned. It was the woman who had been Kylo Ren’s date at the First Order festivities they’d gone to.

“Rey, you remember Kaydel, don’t you?” Hux asked. “She’s from HR.”

Kaydel seemed delighted to see Rey again.

“Long time no see!” she said as she linked her arm with Mitaka’s. “I was quite thrilled when I saw Hux’s application come in – especially after that party at the First Order.”

Rey was a little confused, and it was clear from her expression.

“Wait…” She turned to Hux. “Did you know Kaydel worked here?”

“No – not really. Not until she interviewed me.”

She turned to Mitaka and Kaydel. “Are you two together?”

They nodded happily.

“Yes, you missed all that when you left the party at The First Order so soon,” Mitaka explained. “After Kylo took to the stage, we saw you leave – and it wasn’t hard for me to imagine why. Kylo complained all evening about how rude it was that you’d left.”

“He got a little drunk and was very obnoxious,” Kaydel added. “I took to the dance floor the moment I could, just to get away from him, and that’s where I met Mitaka.”

“Not on the dance floor,” Mitaka explained. “But I was watching people dance.”

“So I dragged him along, at the end of the evening we exchanged numbers, and we’ve been dating ever since.”

Kaydel was very proud, and curiously looked at Rey and Hux. “Were you already a thing when we first met?”

“Sort of,” Rey replied honestly.

“We were _a_ thing,” Hux admitted. “Not sure what type of thing we were precisely, but it developed shortly after Zurich. Right now, we’re engaged.”

As Rey raised her hand to show off her ring, Mitaka and Kaydel seemed delighted.

“Are you still working for The First Order?” Hux wondered.

Mitaka shook his head. “No. I initially filled in for your absence, but they let me go a few months back. They weren’t pleased with my performance. I was never going to replace you – I knew that when you no longer came to work, but I was going to keep it all running in your absence. They replaced me with a higher profile and I’ve been looking for work since.”

Hux turned to Kaydel. “You should give your boyfriend a job, I can vouch for him.”

Kaydel chuckled. “It’s tempting – but we’re not sure if we want to mix our professional lives with our personal ones. What about you, Rey? What do you do for a living?”

“I work at Jakku Mobile,” she replied honestly, no longer feeling any need to keep it hidden – not at this party, at least. Even Hux didn’t mind the fact that she told them. “I’m a team lead, for the customer care department. It’s fun.”

As they spoke for a long while, Rey noticed how well they all seemed to get along. Before they parted ways again, they agreed to meet up one day soon – just to hang out and catch up.

Hux dragged Rey with him to the next person he’d spotted in the crowd, and as they came to a stop in front of an older woman, Rey had no idea who she was looking at.

“Rey, I would like to introduce you to our CEO, Leia Organa.”

As she looked from Hux to Rey, she smiled widely at the sight of the young woman.

“Rey,” the older woman said as she extended her hand. “Such a pleasure to meet you. Armitage has told me so much about you.”

Rey was surprised by that. She hadn’t expected to be the topic of conversation anywhere, least of all between Hux and his CEO.

Seeing that surprise, Leia immediately knew why. “What Armitage did was very brave. I could hardly believe it myself, that anyone so high up in the ranks could leave the First Order behind in exchange for sharing their wisdom with the Resistance. It gives me hope that maybe one day my son will also see the light and turn away from the business of war.”

Rey smiled politely, but wasn’t certain what that had to do with her.

“When I asked him why he’d had a change of heart, he told me about you,” Leia explained. “How you inspired him to be better. You had no parents, no one to guide you, except for your own moral code, and you helped him when he thought he was not deserving of any empathy or kindness. In doing so, you slowly made him realize that he had no obligation to his own heritage – no reason to continue a tradition that was wrong. Though the name Hux had been made by war and profit, he could shift that around and do some good in the world – something that would make you proud.”

She nearly had tears in her eyes as she listened to that, and looked at Hux with nothing but gratitude. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, and she wrapped her arm around his waist as she stood by his side.

“I think he’s going to make you very proud,” Leia said warmly. “He’s helped us immensely with his insights in the newest kinds of bombs that our units encounter on their field missions in the Middle-East.”

“That’s not all the Resistance does, is it?” Rey wondered curiously. Hux had already told her he was now working on developing new bomb disposal robots, but she also knew that that wasn’t all the Resistance stood for.

“We’re working with refugees in various countries, building shelters in countries that have been destroyed by war and just try to pick up the pieces in those places where life has been ruined by the war effort. We’ve got psychologists, doctors, nurses, scientists, agricultural developers and an anti-bombing unit, of which Armitage is a part of. What you see here, is only a small part of the people that work for us. Most of them are even at work during the holidays – often in foreign countries where they choose to be out of their own selflessness. Our wages aren’t as glamorous as those at The First Order – nor are these festivities very fancy. But it’s the only thing I can do to show my gratitude to the wonderful work that all my employees do on a daily basis. Their sacrifice and courage inspires me to give it my all as well – and I’m just terribly grateful that someone like Armitage could be convinced to join us, out of his own free will. It gives me hope for the rest of the world.”

As Rey proudly looked at Hux, she saw how he had an emotional tear in his eye, and when he suddenly moved to hug Leia, she warmly wrapped her arms around him as well.

“He’s a sweetheart,” the old woman said with a small chuckle after she let go of him, winking at Rey. “I can see why you want him to yourself.”

Rey chuckled as well, and just smiled warmly as Hux patted his eyes dry. He was a big softie sometimes.

“Want to dance?” she asked him sweetly. “Before you spend your last minutes of the year in tears?”

He laughed and sniffed, then nodded. “Sure, my love.”

Rey winked at Leia, who returned that wink with a broad smile, and as they headed to the dance floor to celebrate with his other colleagues, they held hands.

“You never told me,” she said softly.

“Never told you what?” he wondered.

“How amazing your new work is,” she replied, looking around them. “What wonderful people you surround yourself with on a daily basis.”

He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips, giving her a short kiss.

As she looked at him, he smiled warmly.

“All I needed was one wonderful person to show me the way. To show me life could be better, and filled with love and light, no matter how dark it gets.”

As people around them started the countdown to the New Year, Rey was too moved by his words to respond, and he only had eyes for her. With no need for further words, they leaned in and kissed, holding their hands between them.

They only broke apart when the entire crowd erupted into cheers as the New Year had arrived. Exhilarated by the sound of fireworks coming from outside, they squeezed each other’s hands.

They felt no need to wish each other the best for the New Year and just looked into the eyes of their favorite person in the world. As long as they had each other, it was going to be a spectacular year, and a spectacular life.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'd like to thank my dear friend and beta itsquietcompany for her hard work making this story better. She's also done a very cute little one-shot for reyuxmas. Give it a go if you're looking for more Reyux modern AU: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137439
> 
> Second, I'd also like to thank all of you, my readers! Especially those leaving comments in these troubling post-TROS times. Happy endings seem like a taboo nowadays, so out of spite, I won't do that to you lot. I won't leave my readers heartbroken (for longer than a few chapters) because life is sucky enough as it is and fiction should lift people up, not bring them down. Thank you for your sweet reviews, they lift me up as well, and I can always use a little pick-me-up - I hope you'll be in touch on my other stories!
> 
> I have a few Reyux stories that are finished, modern AU's and also canon-divergent stories. Check out A New Life, Comatose, An Eventful Night and A Hogwarts Tale for some finished Reyux AU's, and I'll soon be continuing Breathe - a WIP that's longer than this fic, and which still has quite a long way to go. 
> 
> I also have some old Reylo stories, if that's more your jam, though I do recommend checking if they're finished before you start reading them. At this point I have no immediate intent of returning to the Reylo WIPs. (it's too painful for me.)  
> So don't torture yourself and stay away from those WIPs. I have plenty of finished fics.
> 
> Then, finally, if anyone of you wishes to join the Reyux discord, a tiny chat room with about 30 Reyux fans in it, let me know! We're a pretty positive Star Wars group, though there is a *ton* of salt about TROS (but is there any group nowadays that's different?) and we welcome all other fans of Daisy and Domhnall and their characters to join us! 
> 
> If you've read and enjoyed this fanfic, please leave a comment! I'd also like to know where everyone lives, if you're comfortable sharing that, just so I know in which corners of the world people have enjoyed reading this fanfiction! That's always something I find amusing to know! 
> 
> Take care, much love! <3  
> Jessie


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